I Know a Wee Piggy

Starred review from April 30, 2012
This little piggy has escaped from his owner and is running riot through the county fair, getting covered in gunk, globs, and other stuff representing nine colors: brown from the muddy pig pen, red from the tomato canning display, yellow from the broken yolks in the chicken coop—which provides Cole (Big Chickens Fly the Coop) the opportunity to prove, once again, that he’s virtually unrivaled when it comes to drawing hysterical hens—and so forth. By the time the wee piggy proudly wins a blue ribbon, he makes the Garbage Pail Kids look pristine—and kids will be reveling in his
genially mischievous grossness. Norman (Ten on the Sled) contributes a catchy cumulative verse that riffs on “I Know an Old Lady” (“I know a wee piggy who wallowed in green./ Oh, what a scene! He’ll NEVER get clean!/ He wallowed in green to go with the black./ He wallowed in black to go with the yellow”). But it’s Cole’s porcine hero who steals the show: even the fussiest grownups will fall for this eager-eyed, grinning, leaping, prancing, filthy pig. Ewww. And awww. Ages 3–5.

May 1, 2012
How can one small pig get into so much trouble? "I know a wee piggy... / who wallowed in BROWN. / Upside down, he wallowed in brown. 'But brown is not for me, ' he said. 'I think I'll add a rinse of...' / RED!" And so it begins! This energetic, pitch-perfect riff on "I Know an Old Lady" introduces various colors while following a spirited young piggy on a delicious romp through a county fair. Mayhem ensues as the pig chooses his hues and frolics through a variety of substances (mud, grass, chicken feathers and tomatoes, for example) to achieve his multicolored goals. In a nice touch, the names of the colors are bolded and colored within the otherwise black text, making for easy recognition of the actual words. Youngsters will eagerly join in and sing along with the cumulative verse and laugh out loud with the lovable piggy as he scampers throughout the fair, wreaking havoc everywhere he goes. The acrylic-and-ink illustrations are replete with vibrant colors and gentle humor and will draw even the most reluctant readers in. But wait! There's a color missing--blue. What is blue at a county fair? A ribbon, of course. Does this piggy deserve one? You bet! This gleefully messy pig will prompt endless re-readings. (Picture book. 2-6)

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Starred review from June 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 1-Drawing inspiration from "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly," this rollicking story of a small pig's escapades at a fair will delight readers. Escaping from his boy, the porker gets into plenty of messy trouble before winning a blue ribbon. The whimsical, rhyming text scans well for reading aloud and provides opportunities for talking about colors and predicting what adventure will next befall the runaway. "I know a wee piggy who wallowed in red./Hoof to head, he wallowed in red./He wallowed in red to go with the brown./Upside down, he wallowed in brown." Cole's brilliant colors and rounded shapes done in acrylic paints and colored pencil extend the fun, drawing children into the action and offering additional occasions for storytime and classroom discussion. The book design enhances the flow of both text and illustrations, including the colors in the font as well as in the paintings. This will be a surefire winner, especially for those communities that host local, county, or state fairs.-Sharon Grover, Hedberg Public Library, Janesville, WI

Copyright 2012 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2012
Preschool-G *Starred Review* With an old-lady-who-swallowed-a-fly structure, this follows a wily wee swine through a county fair as he sloshes in substances of different colors, creating mess after mess and smile after smile. At first he is as happy as a pig in mud, but then decides brown is not for me and I think I'll add a rinse of . . . RED! He wallows in canned tomatoes from the horticulture exhibit to achieve the desired effect. A veritable rainbow of mishaps followfrom pink cotton candy to yellow egg yolks to black paintand each is perfectly paced across long pages, with exciting page turns. This is a blue ribbonworthy read-aloud opportunity for celebrating rhyme, repetition, rural traditions, laughterand, of course, color. The star's earnestness is irresistible, and both text and pictures are rich and energetic. Throughout, the words red, green, blue, and so on are printed in their respective colors, thereby reinforcing the lesson for little ones. Cole's acrylic and colored-pencil art alternates between full bleeds and spot art placed on clean white pagesclean, that is, until little piggies (aka legions of adoring book lovers) get their hooves on it. Pair with I Ain't Gonna Paint No More! (2005) for an additional splash of color at storytime.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)