If You Give a Pig a Pancake

FROM OUR EDITORS

When it comes to children's books, it's hard to beat the bestselling team of author Laura Numeroff and illustrator Felicia Bond for creative and captivating tales that are both fun and educational. They continue the tradition that began with such whimsical titles as If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Moose a Muffin with yet another tale of actions and consequences: If You Give a Pig a Pancake. Once again, Numeroff follows the potential effects of one creature's chaotic demands, creating a tale filled with beguiling characters, delightful anticipation, and a fun sense of adventure.

In addition to being humorous and entertaining, If You Give a Pig a Pancake allows children to see how their own constant demands might frazzle their parents. Kids should also enjoy studying the subtleties in Bond's colorful illustrations, such as the facial expressions of the book's adorable protagonist or the details found in a mountain of bubbles and the contents of a closet. Easy to understand, stimulating to both mind and eye, and irresistibly amusing, this is one book children will likely want to read over and over again.

--Beth Amos

ANNOTATION

One thing leads to another when you give a pig a pancake.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

If you give a pig a pancake, she'll want some syrup to go with it. You'll give her some of your favorite maple syrup. She'll probably get all sticky, so she'll want to take a bath. She'll ask you for some bubbles. When you give her the bubbles. . .

Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond have done it again! In keeping with their bestsellers If You Give A Mouse A Cookie and If You Give A Moose A Muffin, chaos is the order of the day when an accommodating little girl tries to keep up with the whims of a busy little pig. If you give a pig a pancake, shell want syrup to go with it. Youll give her some of your favorite maple syrup. Shell probably get all sticky, so shell want to take a bath. Shell ask you for some bubbles. When you give her the bubbles . . . Laura Numeroff and Felicia Bond have done it again! As in their mega-sellers If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Moose a Muffin, chaos is the order of the day when an accommodating little girl tries to keep up with the whims of a bossy little pig.

About the Author

Born in 1953, the youngest of three girls, Laura Numeroff grew up in Brooklyn, New York, surrounded by art, music, and books. By age nine, Laura started writing her own stories and drew pictures to go with them — she would even make a book cover for them and write down the name of the publisher. She also spent a great deal of time reading and took weekly trips to the public library — which was about five blocks from her house. At that time, her favorite possessions were her microscope, a box of sixty-four crayons, and her library card.

At age fifteen, Laura decided to follow in her sister's footsteps and become afashion designer. However, during her last semester in college, Laura decided to take a class in writing and illustrating books for children. She ended up graduating with a degree and a publishing contract for her first book! She has been writing now for 27 years and has written 16 books for children. Her best-selling If You Give a ... series has received critical acclaim and has become a favorite for children of all ages. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California.

SYNOPSIS

What does children's author Laura Numeroff have in common with Maurice Sendak, E. B. White, and Shel Silverstein? They have each sold more than a million copies of their books. But more important, they have managed to win the hearts of kids across the nation. Her bestselling If You Give a Moose a Cookie catapulted Numeroff into the upper echelons of children's literature. Now the creative team of Numeroff and illustrator Felicia Bond is back, with If You Give a Pig a Pancake . The stars of this long-awaited companion to and If You Give a Moose a Muffin are a bossy little pig and the young girl who valiantly tries to accommodate the pig's every whim. In keeping with the other beloved stories, chaos reigns as the pig's delightfully silly requests lead to page after page of fun.

FROM THE CRITICS

Children's Literature - Alexandria LaFaye

Written with the same whimsical humor as the mouse and moose stories, Numeroff's book is another great addition to the insatiable animal collection. Through the behavior of a delightfully demanding pig, readers are shown the wonderfully erratic fashion in which young children seek out what they want, change their minds, and create general havoc in the course of a single day. Numeroff allows children to see themselves from a different angle by putting the child protagonist into the shoes of an awed, compliant, but sometimes nervous caretaker who must pick up after the pig. It may also give kids an idea of what it is like to be a parent. The vibrant illustrations are full of energy and humor to complement the twisting and turning narrative.

School Library Journal

(PreS-Gr 2) This delightful story continues the playfulness found in its predecessors, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie (1985) and If You Give a Moose a Muffin (1991, both HarperCollins). Here, a little girl is the patient hostess to a demanding piglet, whose myriad requests lead them from the kitchen table to the bathtub to the backyard. Along the way, the endearing porker puts on a pair of tap shoes, gets her picture taken balancing on top of the living room furniture, prepares a stack of mail to send to her friends, and builds and decorates a tree house. Preschoolers and beginning readers will enjoy spotting the objects mentioned in the story. Beginning with the cover illustration of the piglet daintily perched on a windowsill, Bond has once again created an adorable character that expresses the text perfectly. The humor and quick pace of Numeroff's engaging narrative make this book an excellent choice for reading aloud. A surefire crowd-pleaser. -- Diane Janoff, Queens Borough Public Library, NY.

Kirkus Reviews

The familiar circular formula employing a cookie-eating, milk-guzzling mouse and muffin-eating moose now showcases a pancake-eating pig who, as readers may have come to expect, might be in need of some maple syrup. The domino effect is in full force: The sticky syrup must be dealt with in the bath; the bath demands a rubber duck; the duck prompts the pig to recall her farm origins; and so on. One adventure after another includes tap-dancing, picture-taking, and treehouse-building. In the act of interior decorating, the use of sticky wallpaper reminds the pig of the maple syrup, which leads back to the pancake. The funny, clever formula creates just the right amount of anticipation, with plenty of visual humor accompanying the antics. Whether the homesick pig is wrapped in a bath towel clutching her rubber duck or pirouetting on a tightrope, she'll please fans of the previous books, who will relish more of the same. (Picture book. 2-5)