Review by Booklist Review
Riffing on the notion that no man is an island, Hernández tells the story of a pig who tries to solve his problems by building a wall. Little Tortoise loves visiting Mr. Pig and smelling the beautiful roses he grows. Unfortunately, Mr. Pig is annoyed by her chatter and desperately wants his garden to be a place of solitude just for him. So he loads a wheelbarrow with bricks and begins to build. The garden wall grows higher and higher, until it completely blocks Little Tortoise and, unintentionally, the sun, to the roses' demise. Worried for her sequestered friend, Little Tortoise decides to float over the wall via a bunch of balloons to check on him. Her last-minute decision to pick a flower growing from the wall sends the whole barrier crashing to the ground, but not before she and Mr. Pig float away, literally allowing him to see that a world with no walls is beautiful and limitless. The colorful, cartoonlike illustrations and strong friendship theme make this a rosy storytime pick.--Rosie Camargo Copyright 2020 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1--A chatty little blue tortoise annoys gardening addict Mr. Pig with her insistence on helping. His solution: "a Big Wall to keep you OUT!" The wall is so immense that his beloved flowers perish from lack of light. Little Tortoise, determined to bring him sunshine in the form of a yellow flower, creates a balloon delivery system. When she pulls the lone posy before heading to the wall's top, a breach in the bricks creates an expanding crack that allows the youngster to save the grump from falling. At the end, the pair garden together in bright light: "And that was just fine with Mr. Pig." Video game designer Hernandez stimulates with jewel-tone illustrations, and alternating geometric and flowing lines. VERDICT This works well as a simple tale or could be expanded for loftier discussion. Recommened for large picture book collections.--Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A fable for our times.Hardworking Mr. Pig loves his garden. He tends his flowers each eveningor at least that's his intention. His neighbor, Little Tortoise, interrupts his purposeful solitude with ceaseless chatter and exhortations to play. From offering unsolicited help (Little Tortoise pulls up a potted plant by its roots) to hitching a ride on some 2-by-4s that Mr. Pig has thrown across his shoulder, the diminutive reptile is a clueless nuisance. The porcine gardener reaches his limit and proceeds to build a brick wall of epic proportions. To the pig's chagrin, the wall is more effective than he imagined. It keeps everything outincluding sunlight. The lovely garden withers, and the pig becomes despondent. With the help of some helium-filled balloons and a sunflower, the tortoise inadvertently takes Mr. Pig soaring above a world free of walls and fences, demonstrating that a diversity of elements is needed in order to thrive. Hernandez's bright illustrations complement the text, from the nave tortoise's toothy grin to the irritated pig's perpetual grimace. The allegorical reference to the immigration policies of the United States falls flat, however, because Little Tortoise, while unfortunately conforming to many negative Latinx stereotypes, owns her own property and is not trying to move in with Mr. Pig, the embodiment of the Protestant work ethic.A testament to the folly of using extreme measures that is itself flawed. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
