School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1ÄAnother successful concept book from the author of One Moose, Twenty Mice (Barefoot, 1999). The rhyming text explores the meaning of opposites in a series of entertaining farmyard scenes: "Some cows are thin; some cows are fat./But how big is a pig? Can you tell me that?" Other comparisons show the difference between quick and slow, jumpy and still, high and low, clean and dirty, young and old, etc. Each verse contains the refrain, "But how big is a pig," and this animal is partially hidden in all of the double-page spreads. The brightly colored appliqud felt artwork is decorated with braids, beads, and sequins. The pictures have humorous touches, such as the huge stomach of the fat cow, the rickrack ripples of water illustrating the movement of a frog, and the multicolored stitching depicting the dirtiness of some geese. There are also many easily identifiable small and large objects that young children will enjoy pointing out. The last pages deal with the concept of size: "Some pigs are big; some pigs are small-/-but this pig is my mom and she's the/biggest of us all!" The final illustration shows several baby pigs nursing from their much-larger mother.-Anne Parker, Milton Public Library, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
For Beaton (Mother Goose Remembers, reviewed above), it really is a material world: she whips up bold, bright tableaux out of meticulously sewn felt (which she uses both as appliqus and background) and embellishes the fuzzy fabric with judicious use of beads and sequins. Here, a smiling pink piggy coaxes the audience through a rhyming series about different kinds of opposites, ending each vignette with the title question. On the first of these full-bleed spreads, the piglet romps through a meadow where two cows, one skinny and one plump, pose with ladybugs: "Some cows are thin; some cows are fat./ But how big is a pig? Can you tell me that?" On a later spread, the pig encounters bees among the flowers: "Some bees fly high; some bees fly low./ But how big is a pig? Tell me if you know!" The answer is revealed in the final spread, when the pig happily reunites with a sow whose girth spills off the pages: "This pig is my mom and she's the biggest of all!" It's a sassy, unexpected wrap-up; Beaton will have her audience's attention all sewn up. Ages 2-6. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
How big is a pig? is the question that is asked throughout this romp through a variety of farmyard scenes. The bumpy rhyme is secondary to the unique illustrations, which are composed of brightly colored felt pieces enhanced with stitching as well as beads and other objects. Toddlers will enjoy finding the pig on each page. From HORN BOOK Spring 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 2^-5. The only way to improve Beaton's irresistible felt appliqueillustrations would be to have them at hand on a felt board while reading her engaging rhymes. From the title page, picturing a smiling piglet contentedly lolling on its back in a mud puddle, the expressive, tidily stitched farm scenes consider opposites: quick and slow dogs, jumpy and still frogs, tame and wild cats, and more. Each double-page spread includes a lively two-line verse ("Some bees fly high; some bees fly low. / But how big is a pig? Tell me if you know!"), illustrated with a picture of the mentioned animals. Not until the end does this wonderfully entertaining book actually consider pigs. After that happens, children will turn back to the beginning to read it all again. Sure to become a favorite. --Ellen Mandel
