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Pig doesn't really believe in magic. But when Crow offers him some magic seeds in exchange for his freshly baked chocolate swirl fudge cake, Pig can't refuse--particularly since Crow says the seeds will take away his loneliness. With lots of tending, Pig's seeds eventually sprout into fine, fat pumpkins. But they're not magic, so the still-lonely Pig bakes a pumpkin pie to comfort himself. Cr... More

Pig doesn't really believe in magic. But when Crow offers him some magic seeds in exchange for his freshly baked chocolate swirl fudge cake, Pig can't refuse--particularly since Crow says the seeds will take away his loneliness. With lots of tending, Pig's seeds eventually sprout into fine, fat pumpkins. But they're not magic, so the still-lonely Pig bakes a pumpkin pie to comfort himself. Crow, smelling the pie, offers Pig a magic worm in exchange for it. Pig falls for the sly Crow's trick again, and takes the worm into his care--he puts it into a jar with cherry leaves, names it Olive, and feels a little less lonely. One day, Olive escapes, leaving only a brown lump in its place. But eventually the brown lump hatches into a beautiful butterfly! To celebrate, Pig bakes apple-raisin bread pudding, but just as he opens the window to cool the dessert, out flies the lovely Olive Butterfly.

Enter Crow. This time the crafty bird has no problem trading his "magic" for the baked goods. Crushed from the loss of Olive, Pig takes the magic egg without argument, dutifully covering it in flannel pajamas to keep it safe and warm. Just when he's forgotten about it, he hears a "tap! tap! tap!" and out comes a baby Canada goose! From that day on, Pig is lonely no more. He's learned about the hard work of nurturing from the magic seeds, patience from caring for Olive Worm, and wisdom from the moment Olive Butterfly spread her wings and flew away. Though Crow is no hero in this story, he does show Pig that nature itself is magical. Kay Chorao, who raised a caterpillar to prepare for this book, has written and/or illustrated more than 70 books for children. Her detailed, expressive gouache and ink illustrations (reminiscent of Garth Williams's work in Charlotte's Web) make this sweet story of the wonder of nature and the power of hard work to cure loneliness absolutely irresistible. (Preschool to age 6) --Karin Snelson

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