Churchill's Tale of Tails by Anca Sandu

Churchill's most prized possession is his tail.  He is very proud of his simple, small tail.  Then one day the unimaginable happened, his tail was gone.  He must find his tail.  But no matter what he tried, nothing seemed to be the "just right" tail for him.  WIll he ever find the tail that is meant to be his?  

Text: 4Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  4 Buckeye leaves

The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf by Mark Teague

It is the three little pigs with a twist in this funny new version of the famous story.  The book begins as the the farmer informs the three pigs that he is moving to Florida and pays them for their hard work.  The three pigs take off to build houses of ...wait for it....straw, sticks, and bricks.  It is not long before a wolf shows up and he is huffing and puffing.  By the time the wolf arrives at the brick house, which has all three pigs hiding out in, he is very hungry and exhausted.  The wolf passes out on the ground and three pigs decide to revive him and feed him dinner.  The three pigs and the wolf decide to live together in the brick house - minus the huffing and puffing.  A great retelling of the famous story with just enough twists to provide a springboard to discussions.

Text:  5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves

I Know a Wee Piggy by Kim Norman

"I know a wee piggy...who wallowed in brown upside down, he wallowed in brown."

And the piggy takes off on a wild trip through the fair with all its COLORS!  Repeating, rhyming text similar to The Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.  A great introduction or review of colors in a fun manner that kids will enjoy.  I plan to use this one with the kindergarteners this fall.

Text:  4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves - bright and colorful!

Wolf Won't Bite! by Emily Gravett

Three pigs have done the unthinkable....caught a wolf.  From there the three pigs put the wolf through a series of activities.

"I can lift him off the ground!  I can make him dance a jig but...wold won't bite!"

Or will he?

Hilarious, short text, matched with funny pictures.  Kids will get  a kick out of this fun, short book....and they might recognize those 3 pigs!

Text:  5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations:  5 Buckeye leaves

The Princess and the Pig by Jonathan Emmett

A poor farmer is on his way home from the market with a small piglet in the back of his cart, a piglet noone wanted at market so the farmer took pity on. The farmer stops to take a break and unbeknownst to him, the new baby princess, Priscilla, and the piglet in an unimaginable series of events, switch places. The farmer arrives home and he and his wife discover the baby girl, and assume that a good fairy has done "this" just like in the story Thumbelina. At the same time, the royal family has discovered their baby girl looks very much like a pig and also assumes this is not unlike what happened in the story, Sleeping Beauty, and decide to raise their daughter as the royalty she is. As you can imagine these two "children" grow up to be much different. References to various fairy tales are made throughout the story with a surprise ending, especially for an unsuspecting princess. Another cleverly crafted story that takes a well-known story, Princess and the Pea, and makes some changes which results in a very funny story. Students may need some background information on some of the stories referenced throughout the story.


Text: 5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 5 Buckeye leaves

Pigs...pigs....and more PIGS! Oink!

Pig story number one: Little Pink Pup by Johanna Kerby. The cover will grab you right away. First time I saw it, I had to do a double take...A bunch of dachshund puppies and....a little pink piglet! I can hear the ooohhhsss and aaahhhsss from my kids already! Of course, gotta check those endpages and I am happy to report they are so cute with the dachshund pawprints and the piglet pawprints. This book is in the easy section of our public library but is based on true events that happened on the author's farm in Elizabeth, West Virginia. (Side note: Elizabeth is a town with a population of 994 and I have been there!! I have pictures to prove it. My Grandpa was born and raised not far from Elizabeth in Pee Wee, West Virginia so seeing this is where the author lives connected me even more to the story!) Pink the piglet is the runt of the litter. The Kerby family did not think he would survive in the barn so they brought him in the house and he was "adopted" by Tink the dachshund, mother of new puppies. Kids love animal stories and the love TRUE animal stories more. There is a message in this book, one that many people, adults include, could stand to learn...acceptance of those who are different. That you do not have to be the same "animal" to be a family. Love it.

Author's http://www.johannakerby.com/
*Note: I have not looked through the author's entire blog.

Story: 5 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves (photographs are great but I wish I could have seen more of the farm, where the pigs live, etc.)



A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea by Michael Ian Black
I will admit right off I had to read this book more than once to really "get it". Part of it was because I was trying to read it to the soon to be 3 year old and was trying to feed him while I read and was not focused on the book. (Yes, that is how we get him to eat some days....we read and he forgets he is eating and he will open and shut his mouth for us.) Basically if you have ever thought of organizing a pig parade - DON'T DO IT!! Those pigs...they just DO NOT cooperate! They do not like floats, other than rootbeer floats, will not march, and don't even try the uniforms! I have not read it to kids yet (at school) so I am anxious to see what they say about it - it is on the plan for 2nd grade this week!

Story: 4 Buckeye leaves
Illustrations: 4 Buckeye leaves