The Piggy in the Puddle

About the Book

A naughty little pig won’t get out of a puddle: “See the piggy./See the puddle./See the muddy little puddle./See the piggy in the middle/Of the muddy little puddle.” Funny candy-colored pictures by the inimitable James Marshall show a pig family in Victorian clothing–with the father sporting a handlebar mustache and the brother wearing a green boater hat. When the piggy in the puddle won’t take the soap they offer, the genteel parents and brother change course and plunge into the mud with her.

Why this Book?

This book is such a pleasure to read aloud. While my standards for rhyming texts are high, it passes the test with ease and absolutely revels in language. The mud is “squishy-squashy, mooshy-squooshy.” The alliteration creates a tongue-twister that, like a well-honed nursery rhyme, entertains babies and toddlers as well as preschoolers. I love how the parents and brother give up being proper and join the defiant pig in the mud. I love that James Marshall’s pictures are always full of unlikely details (a hot air balloon floats by advertising soap) that work perfectly. Not to be missed.