Can You Make a Piggy Giggle? - Hardcover

Linda Ashman has had three picture books published to date, including Maxwell's Magic Mix-Up, of which The Horn Book said, "The fast-paced rhyming text deserves to be read aloud."

reSchool-K-A young boy is challenged to make a grumpy pig laugh. His various antics-reading riddles, bowing a fiddle, and playing in the mud-cause first a chick, then a calf, then a duck, and then a host of other farm animals to laugh, but the swine never cracks a smile. In a final attempt, the creatures band together and do all of the things that the child tried but there is still no reaction from the grouchy animal. However, attentive readers will notice that on the last page he has a small smile. The vibrant, playful text is rhythmic and frequently rhymes. It moves along quickly and, although there is a repeating formula, it never becomes monotonous. Cole's artful, silly cartoons in deep, bold colors show the anthropomorphic animals dancing, playing, and laughing, and they match the text with their own liveliness and humor. This book is excellent for storytimes or as an introduction to a farm-animals unit, and it could be used to develop preschool theater.
Lynda S. Poling, Long Beach Public Library, CA
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