All Pigs Are Beautiful

King-Smith, Dick. 1993. All Pigs Are Beautiful. Illustrated by Anita Jeram.

This is a fun book. A book all about pigs. Big pigs. Little pigs. Pigs with spots--and those without. It's a fact-filled book as well. But it has a great narrative to it as well. Here's how it starts out:

I love pigs. I don't care if they're little pigs or big pigs, with long snouts or short snouts, with ears that stick up or ears that flop down. I don't mind if they're black or white or ginger or spotted. I just love pigs.

Here's an example of how conversational the narrative is:

Pigs, like people, enjoy a good talk, so don't just stand there saying nothing. "Piggy-piggy-piggy" will do if you don't happen to know the pig's name. If I'm talking to a big fat sow and don't know what she's called, I usually call her "Mother" or "Mommy." They like that.

Here's my favorite part:

Those who don't know much about them just hear grunts and squeaks, but there are all kinds of things a pig might be saying to you if you understood the language, such as: "How kind of you to admire my children," or "Scratch a little harder, please--up a little, a little to the left, down a little. Yes, that's it!" or "Well, no, actually you're not the first person to call me beautiful," or "This food is really excellent, yum, yum. Thanks a lot."

If you love pigs--or if you have a child that loves pigs--I'd definitely recommend this one for story time.

© Becky Laney of Young Readers