Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Milway (the Mousehunter trilogy) steps into early reader territory with a book starring a pair of classic archetypes: the intrepid explorer and the put-upon assistant. In this case, the explorer is Pigsticks, a swoopy ovoid pig who resolves to travel to the Ends of the Earth like his ancestor Colonel Pigslet. "But unlike Colonel Pigslet," thinks Pigsticks, "I'll make it back alive!" He quickly conscripts a hamster named Harold into service (several promises of cake are involved), and the latter two-thirds of the book track their bumbling progress through jungle, desert, and mountain. Much like Harold with the team's enormous gear pack, Milway's ink illustrations (seen in b&w by PW) do some serious heavy lifting with regard to the storytelling; he uses sequential panels to show the duo's progress, and the art often reveals the truth behind the deadpan text. "Harold was definitely going deeper into the jungle than any hamster had gone before," he writes as Harold sinks into a pit of quicksand. An entertaining kickoff to a series of adventures, whether Harold likes it or not. Ages 5-9. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-After reviewing the lives of his famous explorer forepigs, Pigsticks evaluates his life and decides that he, too, must go on a daring expedition. But first, he needs an assistant. After a long search, he finds a small, friendly hamster named Harold, who adores cake. With the promise of baked goods at the end of their journey, Pigsticks and Harold encounter jungle snakes, ravenous crocodiles, deep ravines, and carnivorous mountain goats on their way to the end of the Earth. Will they ever make it to their destination, and if so, will it be what they expected? Milway develops his characters into quite lovable friends that children will adore. Pigsticks is certainly in charge, but it is clear that without his assistant, his goal will never be realized. Ample illustrations and a large font make this is a solid chapter book addition for new and/or struggling readers.-Katy Charles, Virgil Elementary School, Cortland, NY (c) Copyright 2014. 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 Horn Book Review
Pigsticks Pig comes from a long line of august ancestors, or, as he puts it, forepigs. From the portraits on the wall we see that these include Emmeline Pighurst and Mustapha Snuffles. But a young pig has to make his own mark, and Pigsticks decides on an expedition to the Ends of the Earth. In the tradition of the great British explorers, he equips himself with the essentials, including a pith helmet and a teakettle, and proceeds to engage an assistant, a mild, anxious, cake-loving hamster named Harold. In three generously illustrated chapters we follow the explorers as they survive swamps, deserts, rickety rope bridges, malevolent mountain goats, and an avalanche to return home triumphant. The art is slapdash-goofy: Pigsticks looks like a yam with a snout, and Harold is a mustachioed hacky sack. Frequent disconnects between text and pictures carry much of the humor in this tongue-in-cheek-funny (everybody will have the pleasure of seeing right through Pigsticks's charming arrogance) early chapter book. Plums for grownups? Mild satire of the British-colonial mindset and some porcine parodies of cubist masterworks on Pigsticks's walls. sarah ellis (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
