Big Pigs!

Big Pigs
by Leslie Helakoski
32 pages; ages 3-7
Boyds Mills Press, 2014

Take three little pigs who are tired of being "good little pigs", toss them out the barn door and see what trouble ensues.

"First one to sneak into the garden is a big pig," says one... and the challenge is on. They scrape and scramble, squiggle and jiggle, shove and shimmy until one of them finally ends up in the garden.

Now it's time for a new challenge: who can eat a whole row of vegetables the fastest? The competition is rife with colorful verbs until one pig wins. Now, with no vegetables, the garden is a perfect place to wallow in the mud.

I really like how each challenge builds on the one before it - and I love the muddy hoof-prints all over the pages and the pigs try to make it back to the barn - but will they evade mama pig's detection? and if she finds them, what will she do?

The illustrations are such messy muddy fun that you might kick off your shoes and head out to squish your toes in the mud. Review copy provided by publisher.