LET'S BE FRIENDS!

Can Piggy befriend shy Miles the mole?

Piggy once only spent time with his books, and then he met Kate the cat (Piggy, 2016). Now he’s friends with all the animals in the forest…except for Miles, who lives under the forest. Miles wants to explore the world above, but he’s scared; and when he gets nervous, he sneezes. One day he sticks his head aboveground. Piggy catches sight of Miles, who sneezes and flees. But then the scent of Kate’s blueberry muffins draws Miles out. The aboveground duo invites Miles to a tea party the next day. Miles, cake in hand, tries to attend, but disaster sends him scuttling underground. Thank goodness Piggy and Kate (and the rest of the animals) know how to make friends. Lai’s second Piggy tale featuring the eponymous star of his app is as flat and facile as the first. The digitally finished watercolor-and-pencil illustrations are colorful and cute but not enough to carry the package. Piggy’s enormous, red-rimmed glasses (which Kate also needed in the previous book) are as much an authorially imposed affectation as Miles’ stutter before each sneeze. Touches of the surreal—an image of Miles floating outside Kate’s window and another in which characters interact with giant question marks—will confuse toddlers.

Best bypass this pig.