Piggy book

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A stunning new edition of one of Anthony Browne's best-loved picture book stories. Mr Piggott and his two sons behave like pigs to poor Mrs Piggott - until, finally, she walks out. Left to fend for themselves, the male Piggotts undergo some curious changes!

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Mr. Piggott and his sons, Simon and Patrick, keep Mrs. Piggott in a state of perpetual domesticity: fixing breakfast, washing dishes, making the beds and vacuuming the carpets. That's before she goes to her own job. After work, she continues this drudgery while Mr. Piggott and the boys lounge around, periodically demanding things of her. One day, though, she's gone. A note, saying simply, ``You are pigs,'' is all she leaves behind. The three males, quite literally, have become pigs, and the house turns into a pigpen without Mrs. Piggott there to take care of things. When she returns, they beg her to stay, and it's their turn to be domestic. Liberated from chores, she fixes the car. The message here is a little too clear; this book may in fact be a decade too late. Still, it's a sassy story, a little like Aesop, where everyone gets his just deserts. And readers will have a fine time rooting out all the piggy touches Browne has littered throughout the illustrations. (4-8) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

Gr 1 - 3 A wickedly feminist tale if there ever was one, this is the story of Mrs. Pigott, domestic drudge to her husband and two sons. Tired of her lot, she leaves them for a few days, her only message being a note on the mantel: ``You are pigs.'' As the days pass and the menfolk fail miserably at fending for themselves, a unique transformation occurs: they become pigs in fact as well as in habit. Never fear, though; Mrs. P. returns, chores are divided up democratically, and peace and tranquility are restored. The feminist theme would bludgeon the plot were it not for the exceedingly clever illustrations: even before the porcine evolution of the males, there are hints of piggery everywherein the father's lapel carnation, the boys' upturned noses, a piggy bank, a light switch. After the transformation, pigs turn up everywhere, including on the wallpaper (which was formerly a rose design). Browne also uses a sly before-and-after technique in his portrayal of Mrs. Pigott, who starts out as a drab, shadowy figure, face averted, while the males are brightly drawn in full light and full-face. After the victory for women's rights, however, Mrs. P. is drawn in an equal style. In terms of cleverness and style, this one brings home the bacon. Kathleen Brachmann, Highland Park Pub . Lib . , Ill. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Ages 5-7. Hip hip hooray for this mom who gets tired of her male chauvinist pigs. Every day Mr. Piggot tells his wife to hurry breakfast before he goes off to his very important job. And each evening the two Piggot boys want their dinner served on time. In between, Mrs. Piggot washes the dishes, makes the beds, does the ironing, and then heads off to her own job. One day the Piggot men come home and find a note reading, ``You are pigs''; Mrs. Piggot has gone. Now Piggot pere and fils actually become porkers with hooves and tails. The house turns into a real pigsty, and the meals taste as if they belong in a trough. Finally, Mrs. Piggot returns, and things change around the house. Everyone pitches in, and Mrs. Piggot is seen reveling in her new hobby fixing the car. The realities of the story are tempered by Browne's wonderful and very funny full-color pictures. When the Piggot men (who are a bit snout nosed right from the start) turn into actual pigs, kids will laugh out loud. The clever patterning and myriad details add visual interest, and Browne cleverly makes his Mrs. Piggot almost faceless until her triumphant return. Young readers are sure to find the message tucked among the guffaws. IC. Mothers Fiction / Family life Fiction [CIP] 86-3008

Kirkus Book Review

At first glance, a routine cautionary tale about Mrs. Piggott, who, weary of doing all the housework for her two sons and husband in addition to her other job, leaves home till they're ready to reform. But since Brown's imagination is never routine, Piggybook offers delightful surprises, both visual and verbal. All three males order Mom about as they hurry off to their ""very important"" job and schools. Mouths greedily open, they well deserve Mom's succinct farewell missive: ""You are pigs."" Whereupon the three become pink pigs, and in trying to care for themselves create the sort of mess expected in a sty. Moreover, everything around them--doorknob, dock, teapot, even the family dog and the moon and trees seen through the window--is transformed by the pig motif which has been unobtrusively introduced from the first page, slyly hidden, for example, as Dad's shadow. Mom comes back looking serene and sweet. Thereafter, every. one shares tasks; they even look happier. Spare use of carefully selected detail, crisply rendered, and witty characterization of the miscreants and their unwilling drudge, make this another on Brown's growing list of picture books that comment on the human condition with perception and originality. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.