Review by New York Times Review
Wilbur and Babe aside, pigs aren't known for their cuddly disposition. But Gal ("Into the Outdoors," "Night Lights") depicts them so convincingly as family-oriented creatures that, after following them through a day full of activity (building a house, planting a garden, making friends, other porcine pursuits), it's no surprise to find them tucking in family-bed style for the night. Gal's richly textured oil crayon and collage illustrations are dense with activity. But when the pigs curl up with copies of "Charlotte's Web" and "The Three Little Pigs," readers will be ready to snuggle in beside them. I KNOW A WEE PIGGY By Kim Norman. Illustrated by Henry Cole. 32 pp. Dial. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 5) "I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly" is like a pest that refuses to go away. Yet no matter the iteration - whether it's a monster swallowing a spider or a spinster swallowing books - children seem to gobble it up. Happily, Norman's variation offers enough of a tweak on the formula for parents to be entertained too. Here the pig wallows rather than swallows as he tramps through the colors of a county fair. He's covered in pink cotton candy, coated in green grass stains, caught up in a grandmother's purple scarf. He retains his adorable pink snout underneath all the mess. OINK-A-DOODLE-MOO Written and illustrated by Jef Czekaj. 32 pp. Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins Publishers. $16.99. Picture book; ages 3 to 6) The old-school game of telephone is always good for a grade-school laugh, and setting the classic pastime in a barnyard practically guarantees one. Naturally, a piglet starts everything. "Psst," he calls to a nearby rooster, passing along his secret: "Oink." The birdbrained rooster quite naturally screws it up, telling a cow, "Oink-a-doodle-doo," and urging her to pass it along. Even a 3-year-old can see where this is heading. Czekaj has a cartoony Nickelodeon style that spurs the cow's galumps into animated action in a sequence of events mat's made for reading and laughing aloud. PASS IT ON! By Marilyn Sadler. Illustrated by Michael Slack. 40 pp. Blue Apple. $16.99. (Picture book; ages 4 to 8) Who knew pigs were such telephone fanatics? Or bees, cows and dogs for that matter - all of them equally apt to get everything wrong. In this rendition of barnyard telephone, events are spurred into motion when a cow gets stuck on a fence (by her rump; it's that kind of book). When Bee tells Frog to pass the news along, the frog senselessly alters the message: "Cow put a duck in the tent Pass it on!" he tells a bewildered pig. Each message is escalated into greater heights - or depths - of absurdity, gleefully depicted in Slack's retro Tibor Gergely-style illustrations. In me end, Pig helps set things right. OLYMPIG! Written and illustrated by Victoria Jamieson. 32 pp. Dial $16.99. (Picture book; ages 5 to 9) Boomer is excited to compete in the Animal Olympics. Never mind that he's me first pig ever to do so. Never mind that he doesn't exactly look athletic. Never mind that his grandfather is annoyed at having to miss "Days of Our Swine" to witness the event For Boomer, it's all about "hard work and practice." If only. Boomer proceeds to lose every contest and all that optimism ends in a piggish temper tantrum Luckily, there's one more event: gymnastics. Not all stories have happy endings, and not everyone can win at everything. Boomer, at least isn't a sore loser. PAMELA PAUL ONLINE A slide show of this week's illustrated books at nytimes.com/books.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [July 15, 2012]
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This underdog story-underpig, actually-suggests that while practice doesn't always make perfect, it does make good entertainment. Enthusiastic aspiring Olympian Boomer believes, "If you practice and try your best, you can do anything!" Unfortunately, Boomer's attempt to win one different sporting event after another at the Animal Olympics fails; he is generally able to keep his chins up, but when his cannonball dive bombs, Boomer loses it in a rage-filled tantrum that occupies a full spread. A JumboTron vote of confidence from his mother gives Boomer newfound confidence, however, and in a red, sparkly homemade gymnastics outfit, Boomer is on fire in the final event. No, really. Jamieson (Bea Rocks the Flock) satirizes sports coverage by way of a mean-spirited, cliche-spouting announcer named Mr. Hamstring, who is intent on tearing Boomer down. The acrylic artwork is consistently lively and expressive, playing well with the often-deadpan text ("Boomer took the loss pretty well," writes Jamieson as the pig is seen wildly sobbing in his track uniform). A humorous romp just in time for the London Olympics. Ages 5-8. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-"If you practice and try your best," says Boomer, "you can do anything!" This cheerfully unrealistic belief carries the piglet through a series of painful and amusing disasters at the summer Animal Olympics. His fellow sprinters include a greyhound and a cheetah; one of the weight lifters is an elephant; and he's easily beaten at pole vaulting by a flying squirrel. But each time Brent Hamstring, discouraging sports reporter, confronts Boomer with the impossibility of his winning any event, the pig bounces back to try again. (Okay, a couple of temper tantrums intervene.) One suspects that his can-do attitude has a lot to do with his mama, who says on camera, "My son may not be perfect, but he is still my special little boy. Boomer.I love you and I am so proud of you!" Jamieson snatches moral victory from the jaws of athletic defeat with warmth, satirical wit, and old-fashioned silliness. Her drawings and formats are wonderfully varied, colorful, and bursting with personality. Subtle, funny commentaries will be appreciated by slightly older readers, stretching Olympig's appeal.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The story of a pig, perhaps a tad delusional but all guns and going for Olympic gold. Jamieson's young porker, Boomer, is the first pig to compete in the history of the Animal Olympics. He's a charger--"Hard work and practice make an Olympic champion"--but still a pig: not as strong as the elephant, as speedy as the cheetah or as brawny as the gorilla. A mean-spirited reporter tries to diminish his hopes, yet Boomer can only see gold dancing before his eyes. And they are wonderful eyes, enormously expressive in his great pig head as he proceeds to get trounced in every event. The reporter needles Boomer after every loss, and Boomer finally snaps when his cannonball fails to impress the diving judges: "Who made you the boss? No fair! Lawsuit, buddy!" He quits. But his mother tells him how proud she is, and he returns for a slam-bang finale. Hope springs eternal; it's not winning, but how you play the game; you can't win them all. True, but Boomer makes such a hash of each contest, perhaps it is best just to say that he is a good sport, and good sports make sports good. Though the story doesn't turn any new ground, Jamieson's affective artwork, with its brio and dash, endows Boomer with an attractive personality, no matter his flaws. A salubrious object lesson of playing for playing's sake. (Picture book. 5-8)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
