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What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig

Written & Illustrated by Emma J. Virján
HarperCollins Children’s Books
05/12/2015
978-0-06-232724-6
32 pages      Age 1—3

“What this story needs is a pig in a wig on a boat with some friends having fun in the sun–So come on board! Join Pig on an exciting boat ride where she discovers that life is a lot more fun with more friends.”[back cover]

Review
NOTE: This review is a tad unusual. It mixes my traditional review format with interview questions asked of the pig in a wig.
What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig will instantly remind you of dear ole Dr. Seuss. The author employs fast-paced writing combined with simple, but effective, rhymes young children will love to hear and repeat. The narrator sends Pig, wearing a stunning pink wig—what is with that wig—sailing the moat in a boat. Why would a pig wear a wig? Well, I asked Pig and she said (rather emphatically),

“Wigs are fun and I’m a pig that loves to have fun!”

If you venture to Pig’s website—and I do suggest you do—you will find Pig is not simply a pink wig gal.

Back to the story: One by one, the narrator adds a menagerie of interesting, kid-friendly animals to the boat in the moat. A frog, a dog, and a goat on a log join Pig in her wig. But there are more. A rat, wearing a cool hat, sits on a trunk—belonging to an elephant—with a skunk, who is with a mouse in a house. I was beginning to wonder what other animal could possibly be added to the small boat in the moat, when Pig yelled at the narrator. I asked Pig why she stopped all of the narrator’s fun. I thought it was very exciting having rhyming animals set sail. Pig had a different point of view:

“It was getting crowded, too crowded — a frog, a dog, a goat on a log,
a rat in a hat on a trunk, with a skunk, in a house, with a mouse AND
a panda in a blouse? It was more than my little, pink boat could handle.”

Pig is right, the small boat is crowded. So, beginning with the Panda—she performs a cannonball—the narrator reverses course, sending the animals out of the boat and into the moat. Once they leave, the narrator changes the story:

“What this story needs
is a pig in a wig,
on a boat,
in a moat,
having fun,
in the sun,
on her own . . .”

Now, all alone in her boat, Pig is sailing the moat. I think Pig is lonely and realizes she enjoyed her new animal friends. So the pig in a pink wig called for her new friends to return. Taking charge of the narration, Pig decides what the story needs . . .

Pig in a Wig, is a fun story young children will love to hear. The rhyming is simple, yet smart and witty. Kids will be reciting Pig in a Wig and, hopefully, figuring out their own rhyming group of friends. The illustrations are clean and engaging. Many pages hold surprises, such as a pig snout rug, Frog doing a hand-stand, and Dog and Goat holding hands. Dr. Seuss would love Pig in a Wig, which happens to be the same size as an iconic Dr. Seuss book. The simple story will charm young children during story time at school or a library. What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig is so much fun to read I hope to see Pig in new stories.

I asked one last question, wondering, with all those charismatic animals on board, who is Pig’s favorite passenger. She said,

“Well . . . none were my favorite at the beginning, as they were all getting
in my way of having fun in the sun! At the end though, ALL of them were
my favorite, with Goat on his log being my extra, extra favorite.”

WHAT THIS STORY NEEDS IS A PIG IN A WIG. Text and illustrations copyright (C) 2015 by . Reproduced by permission of the publisher, HarperCollins Children’s Books, New York, NY.

Purchase What This Story Needs is a Pig in a Wig at Amazon—Book Depository—Apple iBooks—HarperCollins Children’s Books.

Learn more about What This Story Needs is a Pig in a Wig HERE.
There are Coloring Sheet HERE, 
An Activity Guide HERE, 
And a Teacher’s Guide HERE. 

Pig in a Wig’s website:  http://emmavirjan.com/pig-in-a-wig/
Meet the author/illustrator, Emma J. Virján, at her website: http://www.emmavirjan.com
Find more engaging picture books a the HarperCollins Children’s Books website:  http://www.harpercollins.com/

x
Copyright © 2015 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

Review section word count = 453     

Full Disclosure: What This Story Needs is a Pig in a Wig, by Emma J. Virján, and received from HarperCollins Children’s Books, is in exchange NOT for a positive review, but for an HONEST review. The opinions expressed are my own and no one else’s. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

*Picture book, preschool through 2nd grade
* A silly goose as the main character
*Rating: Silly Tilly is my kind of picture book. It is filled with all sorts of fun and rhymes and vibrant illustrations.

Short, short summary:

So, what do I do with this book?

1. You cannot ignore the rhyme in Silly Tilly. Before reading, ask students to raise their hands if they hear any rhyming words. Ask them to remember at least a pair and tell it to you to write on chart paper when the story is over. Students/children can brainstorm more words that rhyme with the ones in the book. For an “advanced” discussion, what is Eileen Spinelli’s rhyme scheme?

2. When Silly Tilly changes whom she is for her friends, everyone suffers. No one is happy. This is a pretty deep concept for kids to understand, but oh so important. Use the characters in this silly book to get kids to see how important it is for each of them to 1. be themselves and embrace their uniqueness and 2. not expect other people, especially their friends, to change to please them.

3. Kids will have SO MUCH FUN making up their own silly things that Silly Tilly can do on the farm. You can either help them with the rhyming words or just do it with creativity–not worrying about the rhyme. Students can write down one of the silly things and illustrate it. Put these together in a class book–a Silly Tilly sequel.

*Funny, realistic picture book for preschoolers through first graders
*Preschool boy as main character
*Rating: Parts by Tedd Arnold can easily become your favorite book–as a kid and as an adult.

Short, short summary:

So, what do I do with this book?

1. The first time you read it to children see if they think something is really wrong with him or if this is just the body’s way of growing. Ask children if these similar things have happened to them, and give them a chance to tell their stories (so allow for some extra discussion time when reading this book aloud!).

2. We all know at the end of the book that the boy has found ear wax, but can your students make a creative story about what he really found in his ear? For preschoolers, you can do this as a shared writing activity and each student can draw their own illustration. For first graders, they can write a short ending to the story. Encourage them to be creative with what the boy found in his ear!

3. Use this book in a health unit to talk to students about what is really holding our body together–bone, muscles, skin, blood vessels, etc. etc. For younger students (such as two or three-year-old kids), you can talk about the parts they can see!

Colleagues,

Did you know that one of ALSC’s listed organizations will hold an exciting conference in Atlanta, Georgia, from March 26 – 29, 2008?

The Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) Annual International Conference and Exhibition: Beyond Standards: Reaching Every Child’s Potential has much to offer librarians who serve youth.

With over 225 sessions, 30 exhibitors, and inspiring and knowledgeable keynote speakers, including literacy professor and researcher Richard Allington, librarians can learn a great deal alongside our ACEI colleagues who also serve the literacy needs of young people.

Check out the conference information found at:
http://www.acei.org/annualconfex.htm

I encourage you to consider networking and learning alongside other attendees at this event.

Yours in service to youth,

Judi Moreillon
ALSC Liaison with National Organizations Serving Youth Committee

The Association for Library Service to Children is now accepting proposals for innovative, creative programs that have broad appeal for the 2009 ALA Annual Conference to be held July 9 - 15, 2009 in Chicago, IL.

You can find the ALSC Program Proposal forms here.

If you have any questions you may send them to Doris Gebel at [email protected]

Doris Gebel
ALSC Program Coordinating Committee, chair

My goal with this monthly series is to encourage discussion about topics from our professional literature. I don’t plan to review a title, but rather will respond to portions of the work that speak to me and encourage others to do the same.

The book that I selected for January is The Family-Centered Library Handbook, which was reviewed (scroll to the second review) recently in Library Journal. (Thanks to Kathleen Deerr of Middle Country Public Library and one of the book’s authors for the link!) You may have received a brochure this past November about the upcoming fourth Family Place Libraries™ Symposium, The Power of Play: Its Impact on Early Literacy and Learning. It is a free event (for public librarians and administrators) taking place on Wed., March 26, 2008 from 8:30 to 11:30 AM at the Minneapolis Public Library. For more information and to register, visit www.familyplacelibraries.org/symposium.html.

Why bring this up here? Well, Sandra Feinberg is the founder of the Family Place Libraries and director of the Middle Country (NY) Public Library. And one of the authors of The Family-Centered Library Handbook. I do enjoy these types of tie-ins.

The book’s contents are set up nicely, with an overview of child development theory, ways to evaluate basic competencies/willingness of staff, ways to collaborate with other agencies to pull together resources for parents and caregivers, ways to develop services for young children and special audiences (such as teen parent families). Let me say, it is a great deal of information. It helps that in the introduction the authors reassure the readers to take sections as fit their individual needs.

I completely agree with the authors’ point on page 104, that “Family Spaces are not just about the development of young children. Adults in children’s lives are also growing and developing in their roles as parents, grandparents, educators, childcare providers, and health and human service workers.” I was nodding my head while I continued reading on page 104:

Having a dedicated computer, collections, and displays for parents either in the children’s area or adjacent to it creates a sense of place for parents. […] An adult computer station featuring parenting, child development, and early literacy software and Web sites further expose adults to the wealth of resources available at the library.

The book’s authors stress the need for respect. I do worry that sometimes in our zeal to get children access to appropriate activities we alienate some parents, not respecting them as their child’s first teacher, but perceiving them as the child’s first stumbling block. That also leads me to the topic of intervention as encouraged in the book. When a librarian notices a problem, how to approach the child’s caregiver is discussed. My experience has been fairly limited in that I rarely had a consistent, long-term relationship with any family for me to think intervention. I believe that a relationship would need to be established first to truly understand if what you are seeing is a problem. Am I just rationalizing here? I am especially curious to hear other’s views and experiences with this.

But then, if I had a better knowledge of other community agencies to which to refer people, perhaps the intervention idea would not seem so awkward. The importance of forming coalitions and collaborations is another area of the book that truly speaks to me and how I need to grow professionally. With an understanding of what resources are available, I would be in a better position to intervene, to offer suggestions of places to help the children and caregivers with the challenges they are facing. Kathleen de la Pena McCook is cited on page 59, from her book, A Place at the Table, regarding the need for activism and “to permit staff sufficient time to engage in the important work of building community relationships.”

Oh, those collaborations and coalitions are tough work, aren’t they? I have found that the two biggest obstacles are getting through each agency’s bureaucracy and timelines (even my own) AND the high rate of turn-over of staff in those agencies with which I have sought partnerships. I’m not saying that it isn’t worth it, but I am saying it is hard work and time intensive. At this point, I want to make a concentrated effort to just KNOW what other agencies are out in my community and what services they offer.

Again, I encourage you to share your thoughts. The book for February’s Professional Reading post will be Crash Course in Children’s Services by Penny Peck. The titles that have been/will be discussed in this monthly column are listed at the ALSC Blog’s LibraryThing account. If you have any titles to suggest, please post them in the comment section here or send an email to [email protected]. I know that I will be adding McCook’s A Place at the Table to the list.

I am currently serving on the ALSC 2008 Institute Planning Committee. The Institute will be held in Salt Lake City in Sept. 2008.

We would like to have a panel of libraries who have had different, unique, great programs!

Please e-mail me if your library would be interested in sharing your great programs with others.

–Carla Morris