This Book Sense Book of the Year winner is all about a cute cartoon pig who takes advantage of a little girl's kindness. As soon as she offers the pig a pancake, the shenanigans begin. The story builds on itself quickly, one action leading right into another; the pancake leads to syrup, which leads to being sticky, so a bath is needed, which leads to bubbles, and so on. Each page has one simple sentence, while the pictures fill in the details. Each scene is a familiar one from home that your child will likely recognize, the kitchen, bathroom, living room, shed, and backyard.
The humorous antics of the pig make it fun, and the simple story will help your child follow along and learn the words quickly. While you're reading and your child is studying the pictures, they may find some fun surprises in the details, such as Snoopy, Pooh, and Eeyore stuffed animals atop the dresser in the little girl's room, or they may notice the pig dumping the entire box of bubbles into the bath when the little girl is not paying attention! The little girl impressively exudes patience and kindness through all of the pig's antics. If your little one notices this, you can make a lesson of it, pointing out the similarities in the little girl having to constantly clean up after the pig, much like a parent may have to clean up after their child.
This was one of my friend Adam's favorite books when he was three, as he had a pretend friend who was actually a cloud named 'Piggy' (yes, he is very creative). After reading this book, Adam decided Piggy's favorite food was pancakes and syrup. For the next year, whenever Adam's mom made pancakes on the weekends, Adam always set one aside for Piggy.