Tuesday, August 4

What This Story Needs is a Pig in a Wig

What This Story Needs is a Pig in a Wig
Written and illustrated by Emma J. Virjan

My rating: ★★★★★

ISBN: 978-0062327246
Publisher: HarperCollins
Date of publication: May 12, 2015
Age: 4 - 7 years

Themes: rhymes, friendship, animals, fun

This story has a pig in a wig on a boat in a moat. She's having fun in the sun, but what about some more friends? Like a skunk, dog, goat, panda, mouse, elephant... It may be getting a little too crowded. They may need a bigger boat.

I'm on the verge of saying that this is book is the perfect beginning reader. It has simple text with rhymes and word families, helping to build vocabulary through phonetics and repetition. But it also has the emotion and humor of a good Elephant & Piggie book (which are my usual go-to, favorite easy readers). I would say it's as though Dr. Seuss and Mo Willems had a love child. And it was the combination of the good parts of both.

The illustrations are pretty simple as well, but there are still some pretty priceless facial expressions and emotions that let the reader infer what Pig is feeling. I also like how saturated it is, so the colors feel extra bold. Overall, I like what one reviewer on Amazon said: "One of those picture books that makes them look so easy to write—sort of like watching an olympic figure skater do an axel." Simple, yet complex at the same time.

I would recommend this to young readers as great practice for their budding reading skills, but it's also a fun read aloud for parents with their kids. Readalikes would be the obvious Cat in the Hat and it's a good follow up after the very simple (but awesome word-building book) Pig Wig (by Harriet Ziefert).

Find it at your library or on Amazon

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