  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 01/01/2012 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 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 02/01/2012 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 on—with prepositions abounding—as 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. - Copyright 2012 Booklist. Bulletin for the Center... - 03/01/2012 The new tale starring old friend Pig Pig begins wordlessly on the pre-title page and continues onto the opening pages, as a lion escapes from a zoo and climbs up the tree outside Pig Pig’s bedroom window. From there, the friendly lion enters Pig Pig’s room, much to the delight of Pig Pig, who jumps “out of bed” and runs “down the stairs,” followed by the lion. Pig Pig and the lion continue their romp through the house, unbeknownst to his ever-distracted mother, and though Pig Pig longs to keep the lion, it must skedaddle when the zookeepers show up on the doorstep on the book’s closing endpapers. There’s a manifestly educational bent to this escapade, as prepositions are printed in boldfaced type, helping young listeners take note of this often puzzling type of word (most cleverly occurring when the lion climbs on top of the TV just as it broadcasts a picture of the lion on a news update, leading Pig Pig to exclaim, “The lion is on the TV!”). The focus on directional words is right on target for the developing verbal skills of the young audience, and youngsters will also be amused by the various antics of Pig Pig and the lion and by Mom’s complete obliviousness to the lion’s presence. McPhail’s ink and watercolor illustrations continue to be strong and lively, with a loose, energetic feel. Cute Pig Pig, in his striped pajamas, and the shaggy, smiling lion are clearly having a jolly good time, and their depiction is both joyful and humorous. Curricular and storytime use abound here, of course, but this pig tale is also perfectly fine as a standalone story. JH - Copyright 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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