Pig Pig Returns by David McPhail

I like books like Pig Pig Returns that feature animals living as humans (see Oliver and Amanda Pig, Olivia, Bread and Jam for Frances, etc (this list makes it clear to me that I also apparently really like pigs. And I only thought I liked them for delicious bacon)).

But more than just an animal wearing clothing, I particularly love it when those animals have a little bit of human angst. For some reason, this just amuses me to no end (this may explain my deep love for Frances).

It also amuses me when animals have pets. But that is neither here nor there.

pig pig returns by david mcphail

Anyway, the presence of an overall-wearing pig filled with worry over a road trip meant that this book was a quick new friend in our house.

Pig Pig is going on a road trip with his aunt and uncle, but he’s pretty nervous about it. Not because he’s scared, of course, but because he is worried his mom will just miss him too much. Of course.

But he is convinced to go, and after a rocky start, what with the car sickness and going to see the hot springs that shoots off every Thursday, but they arrive on a Friday. Tragic.

The text is delightfully sparse (nice for a small child and with a bit of ironic flair to it), and the illustrations are sweet, colorful, and breezy. I loved this book.

I especially giggled at the little note on the copyright page that says “A not for concerned readers: Pig Pig is of the appropriate age, height, and weight to be sitting in the front seat of an automobile. On pages 8 and 9 his safety belt is obscured by his magazine and the dashboard of the car.”

Apparently David McPhail wrote five books, a decade or two ago, about Pig Pig, and this book is a return to these characters. I’d never heard of them, but I have several on request at the library as we speak.


Copy received from publisher