Publisher's Weekly Review
Virján's wig-wearing pig returns in her fourth picture book, a noisy outing that gets underway after the pig builds a bandstand and attracts an outfit of instrument-playing animals. As in the previous books, there's raucousness to spare in Virján's punchy rhymes ("This story also needs a twang, a tootle, a ping, a boom,/ a brup, a jingle, and a doom-doom-doom"), and children can easily match up the various instruments with the sounds they make, from the "tish" of an elephant's cymbals to the "bwap" of a monkey's trombone. The Pig on a Wig Band's music gets temporarily disrupted when a mouse with a (tiny) tuba frightens an elephant, but it isn't long before they are up, running, and attracting applause. It's good, boisterous, musical fun. Ages 4-8. Agent: Edite Kroll, Edite Kroll Literary. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
The fourth in the early-reader Pig in a Wig series. This time the pig in a wig finds herself conducting an orchestra. Humor is the order of the day as the various animalsraccoon, dog, bird, cow, catassemble to play the instruments. At first, the pig is alone on the bandstand, but her musical friends soon join in on a wide assortment of instruments: banjo, bells, bass, trombone, bugle, kazoo, and drum. When a little, tuba-playing mouse joins in with a squeak, the whole band goes crazy! Its not clear why all the animals are unnerved by the mouse, but they certainly are. Feeling more like a choppy phonics textbook than a story, the book doesnt give readers enough to make it worth the work to read. While each traditional sound word (buzz, jingle) could be decoded by beginning readers, Virjn includes so many nonsense words (including tootle, brup, tish, and bwap) in her textoften they are the only words on a pagethat young readers may lose interest along the way. Parents and teachers who will be called upon to help young readers sound out the words will quickly tire of the chore. Followers of the series will enjoy another go-around with this familiar character, but the plot does not hold up to its predecessors. Muted giggles but no standing ovation for this orchestra. (Early reader. 3-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A Pig in a Wig returns with a twang, a tootle, and a full animal band of fun. Strong visuals welcome the reader on the cover, with Pig in a Wig's arms and cymbals held high, and then the story opens with the Pig in a Wig Band set to play their first concert, until mouse comes along, tuba in tow, and scares Elephant. Bold digital coloring over charcoal sketches combines with instrument sounds that will have little ones stomping their feet with a tish, a tootle, a bwap, and a boom. The endpapers contribute, too, repeating images of a tuba with one tiny mouse popping out of the bell with a mischievous smile. The fourth Pig in a Wig adventure works well for one-on-one reading and also as a read-aloud, thanks to the dark outlines and easy-to-read font. An entertaining new addition to a popular series.--Ginman, Karen Copyright 2017 Booklist
