Even when McPhail (The Teddy Bear, p. 496, etc.) is somewhat predictable, he can’t seem to help but turn out a winning story; his never-failing artwork doesn’t hurt either, with its fine lines, robust color, and deep narrative content. Here, in a story in chapters, he’s back with one of his favorite creatures, the pig—Piggy, in this case. Piggy was the runt of the litter, but tendered into youth by the kind Mr. and Mrs. Farmer Todd. Among the gifts they bestow upon Piggy is the secret to Mrs. Farmer Todd’s delicious pancakes. When a young and starving fox by the name of Fox (“The name certainly suits you,” notes Mrs. Farmer Todd) is caught in the hen house, Piggy invites him in to have some pancakes. Soon, Piggy and Fox decide to open a pancake parlor in their little burg. It becomes a great hit and gives Piggy a chance to display his remarkable patience, tolerance, and loyalty: he works more like a beaver than a porker; he handles unruly customers with kindness; and he doesn’t reveal the secret ingredient to the pancakes, even when offered a substantial cash bribe. Finally the day comes when he confides the secret ingredient to Fox—with Mrs. Farmer Brown’s approval. You guessed it: love is the answer. But that isn’t what propels this story forward, except as an aspect of Piggy’s general deportment; the secret ingredient is McPhail’s terrific way with words—“But Piggy and Fox were young and strong, and the hard work agreed with them”—and his ability to craft affecting, soulful characters. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-525-45930-8
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Hee haw.
The print version of a knee-slapping cumulative ditty.
In the song, Smith meets a donkey on the road. It is three-legged, and so a “wonky donkey” that, on further examination, has but one eye and so is a “winky wonky donkey” with a taste for country music and therefore a “honky-tonky winky wonky donkey,” and so on to a final characterization as a “spunky hanky-panky cranky stinky-dinky lanky honky-tonky winky wonky donkey.” A free musical recording (of this version, anyway—the author’s website hints at an adults-only version of the song) is available from the publisher and elsewhere online. Even though the book has no included soundtrack, the sly, high-spirited, eye patch–sporting donkey that grins, winks, farts, and clumps its way through the song on a prosthetic metal hoof in Cowley’s informal watercolors supplies comical visual flourishes for the silly wordplay. Look for ready guffaws from young audiences, whether read or sung, though those attuned to disability stereotypes may find themselves wincing instead or as well.
Hee haw. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: May 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-545-26124-1
Page Count: 26
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2018
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