A modest but appealing picture book that combines simple storytelling and empowering messages with unforced charm.
In the first of a planned series, Odiwo offers gentle lessons in character building through the adventures of a talking, mischief-minded little pig.
Six-year-old Porsché Porscha the pink pig, so named because her mother “thought her newborn piglet looked like the most beautiful pink Porsche car she had ever seen,” isn’t like the other pigs on the farm. She can talk and so can her best friend, Wally the Goat. The curious little pig is always up for adventure, with reticent Wally in tow, and trouble often follows. For example, the friends are grounded after hitching a ride on a hay truck, and an encounter with a beehive leaves Porsché Porscha with a sore snout. In this debut children’s book by Odiwo (Blessings For My Child, 2009), kind Farmer Fiola is the grownup, delivering gentle lessons in good manners and honesty, as well as a between-the-lines message about the rewards of reading. Farmer Fiola scolds Porsché Porscha for taking a piece of pie without asking; but she praises her for telling the truth about it, and reminds her to wash her hooves before eating dinner. She treats Porsché Porscha’s bee sting, buys her a book about bees, and they “read together” at bedtime, while the little pig learns “a lot about bees and what not to do around them.” And while this is certainly not a book about real-life pigs, the author lightly weaves a few facts about them into her narrative. Porsché Porscha says that her feet are called trotters, for example, and her nose is a snout. When she disdains wallowing in the mud, Farmer Fiola points out that because pigs don’t sweat, mud helps them stay cool. (Porsché Porscha’s solution is a nice clean pool for soaking.) The story’s idyllic farm setting and quirky characters are pleasantly realized in cartoonlike, full-page digital illustrations, complemented by large text against blue, yellow, and green backgrounds with a subtle pig-foot motif.
A modest but appealing picture book that combines simple storytelling and empowering messages with unforced charm.Pub Date: Dec. 19, 2014
ISBN: 978-1500562519
Page Count: 44
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
<p>Perfectly fine but nothing new.</p>
Caregiver-child love abounds in this rhyming board book full of animal puns.
One thing’s for certain, there’s plenty of sweet (and groanworthy) sentiments in this book. Rossner writes, “Giving HOGS and kisses / sends me to the moon!” and, “I’m such a lucky DUCK. / You really QUACK me up!” The book progresses entirely in this fashion, with a new animal pair and pun with each page turn. It reads well as a book for a caregiver to share with a lap-sitting child. On that mark, it succeeds in providing plenty of opportunities for giggles and snuggles. That said, at times the meter is forced, making the cadence a bit stilted, and the cuddles/bubbles rhyme is a dubious one. This is an issue for a book that will almost solely be read aloud. Gibson’s illustrations are very charming; the animals and insects with big eyes and expressive faces have high appeal. The warmth of the animals’ embraces and cuddles translates well from the page, inviting the same snuggles from readers. Decorated eggs appear on each page, and the bunny pair from the cover features prominently. Overall, the concept and message of the book are high interest and age-appropriate, but it doesn’t stand out from the very crowded shelf of “I love you, little one!” books similar to it.
<p>Perfectly fine but nothing new.</p> (Board book. 6 mos.-2)Pub Date: Feb. 2, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-7282-2343-8
Page Count: 25
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character.
One of Boynton's signature characters celebrates Halloween.
It's Halloween time, and Pookie the pig is delighted. Mom helps the little porker pick out the perfect Halloween costume, a process that spans the entire board book. Using an abcb rhyme scheme, Boynton dresses Pookie in a series of cheerful costumes, including a dragon, a bunny, and even a caped superhero. Pookie eventually settles on the holiday classic, a ghost, by way of a bedsheet. Boynton sprinkles in amusing asides to her stanzas as Pookie offers costume commentary ("It's itchy"; "It's hot"; "I feel silly"). Little readers will enjoy the notion of transforming themselves with their own Halloween costumes while reading this book, and a few parents may get some ideas as well. Boynton's clean, sharp illustrations are as good as ever. This is Pookie's first holiday title, but readers will surely welcome more.
A pleasant holiday spent with a perfectly charming character. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-553-51233-5
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Robin Corey/Random
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2016
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