Pig Pig Meets the Lion

Starred review from December 19, 2011
When a lion escapes from the zoo, Pig Pig’s mother finds out from the newspaper. Pig Pig learns about the lion when it climbs through his window and plops onto his bed. The escapee chases Pig Pig through the house (letting McPhail give a comedic lesson in prepositions like “into” and “down”). “If I found the lion,” Pig Pig asks his distracted mother, “could I keep him?” Paired with deliciously deadpan prose, McPhail’s spreads maintain a satisfying sense of movement and tight comedic sequencing as the lion skulks around the house before slipping out unobserved. Readers will have a blast being in on Pig Pig’s secret. Ages 4–7.

January 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 1-Pig Pig wakes to find himself in bed with a mischievous lion that has escaped from the zoo. Our porcine pal's frantic attempts to run away are ignored by his mother as she cooks breakfast and uses her cell phone. "The lion is on the TV," Pig Pig declares. "Oh, that's nice," answers his mom, assuming he means on the news. When the lion finally leaps onto Pig Pig, loving licks lead to an unsuccessful adoption request. Even the promised zoo visits will be delayed, since the lion craftily escapes the zookeepers who have arrived at the door via a second-story window. McPhail cleverly highlights the prepositions in his spare text, creating a learning opportunity. His droll, watercolor illustrations escalate the comedy with spot-on expressions and scenes like the lion scarfing up the cat's food. Even this sixth title in the series isn't enough-encore!-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2012
Preschool-G Pig Pig is in for an adventure here! A lion has escaped from the zoo and winds up climbing through the bedroom window. And so the chase is onwith prepositions aboundingas the lion follows the pajama-clad pig into the kitchen, under the table, and across the living room while an oblivious mom cooks breakfast. McPhail's watercolor art is a frenetic pleasure, and there's no reason to be scared: Pig Pig has a slight smile on his face all through the ordeal. Besides being fun for reading, the boldface treatment of the prepositions makes this a good choice for school grammar classes.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)