arts and music

From all across the holler,
from every nook and cranny,
all the piggies are arriving
for the yearly hootenanny.

So begins this rhythmic, rhyming read-aloud. On each double-page spread we see the pigs prancing, romping, dancing, stomping, singing, sighing (at the glorious voice of the "peachy-keen soprano") and having a rollicking good time.

Pham does an excellent job at capturing the pigs' merriment and high-spirited hoofing. Done in watercolor and colored pencil, the double-paged illustrations are filled with lots of action and humorous piggy poses and facial expressions. Smartly, Pham keeps the book from being overwhelmingly busy by limiting the inside scenes primarily to pinks, peaches, yellows, and oranges. The layout and judicious use of white space make the book a pleasure to read as well as look at.

When the book arrived here at Education Oasis all our teacher-reviewers loved it. The litmus test for us, however, is whether or not it works in the classroom. We took it into several classrooms to see how the prancing porkers faired. The students to whom we read it also loved it and demanded several re-readings. Thankfully, Appelt's text is great fun to read aloud. The rhymes roll off the tongue easily.

Don't miss this one!

Reviewed by the Education Oasis Staff