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Dec 17, 2009

Needleroozer rated it:

I didn't read this book as a young adult, but I recently read it as an old adult. This is one sad story.

It could also go on the "I had to face the death of my beloved pet" shelf with Old Yeller and Where the Red Fern Grows. At least the kids who loved those dogs didn't have to eat them.

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 20, 2007

Jennie rated it:

Although overall I enjoyed the book, I felt it would be somewhat challenging for younger readers. Pinky’s rape scene is quite brutal, and although there is some truth to the grotesquerie of animal husbandry- I found it a bit gruesome. Also there is quite a bit of sexism, which I found unpleasant, especially in the assumption that Pinky will be better now that she has been raped. Also the Shaker values are historically inaccurate in many ways rendering the text useless to a history class.

5 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 05, 2011

Joanne rated it:

I am amazed at many of the negative opinions regarding this book. It is very well written, the author balances humor with realism and emotional content. Although there are some disturbing scenes, they are not fictional violence, but a part of the life of the time and place. My book club read this as adults and many of them were more upset at the scenes than the students who read the book. Sometimes as adults we seem to read more into things than children do. Weasling the dogs was very hard More...

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May 04, 2011

Veronika rated it:

Many readers don't like A Day No Pigs Would Die because of its religious connotations and its "sexism." Personally, I loved it because it depicts real life in all its glory...and its gruesomeness.

Robert is a young boy who learns the reality of life's hardships - the necessity of doing the hard things, the joys of the little things, the truth about making decisions and becoming a man. Though I'm female, I could sympathize with Robert's maturing into an adult and coming face More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 20, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Peck has written a great "boy becomes a man" book.. In this semi-autobiographical novel, the 12-year-old narrator Robert is a Shaker farm boy living in Vermont in the 1920s. The book follows a year in his life involving several experiences that change him from a boy into a man, and along the way there are graphic descriptions of several gruesome and gory things that happen on the farm, including the opening scene where Robert helps a cow that is having trouble giving birth. In gener More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 31, 2011

Ana rated it:

This book takes time during a modern period in Learning- a small village in Vermont. Most of the important events take place on the shaker farm which is owned by the Peck family. The protagonist in the novel is Robert Peck. Robert is a hard-worker who accepts his life; until he turns thirteen and his father passes away. Robert then has to take the responsibilities as head of the farmer while being young and growing up. The antagonist in this novel is the challenges that Robert has to face at a y More...

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Jun 03, 2010

Bookworm1858 rated it:

I chose this because I had seen it on the banned/challenged books list and I could see that it was short (do you see a theme here?) Apparently it was challenged for its depiction of pigs mating and being slaughtered. And that is gross! There are also descriptions of a hawk killing a rabbit, squirrel hunting, and a dog killing a weasel and then having to be put down. So there is a lot of icky stuff at least to this suburban girl. While it was violent, it wasn't for the sake of violence; the latte More...

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Nov 20, 2009

Joy rated it:

This was a sweet coming-of-age story about a Shaker boy in Vermont and "his acceptance of faith, death, and the hard work of wresting a life from the land." In the course of a year, the 13-year-old takes on
the role of the man in his family. There were some down-home phrases
like: "Let's all put on the feed bag." "He'll stand without hitching" (super compliment). Also lots of wisdom: "Never miss a chance to keep your mouth shut." "Why t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 22, 2009

Kurt rated it:

I needed a short, light-weight book to take backpacking with me into the Wind River Mountains in Wyoming. I came across an old, beat-up copy of A Day No Pigs Would Die that I had bought at a second-hand store and decided to take it. While on my trip I read the first 25 or so pages. I was not really impressed, but because it was a short book I decided to finish it when I got home. Some of the things that really bothered me were the the focus on sex and reproduction (not really appropriate in More...

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May 02, 2009

Kristen rated it:

I picked up A Day No Pigs Would Die from our old bookshelf in the basement last weekend when I went home. I couldn’t remember hearing anything about it, and had no idea if it was worth reading, but the tattered cover and faded pages seemed to whisper that I try it out. I’m so glad I did. The book follows a young 12-year-old boy named Robert who is growing up on a rural farm in Vermont. A Day No Pigs Would Die is one of those books you experience, not just read. It left me changed in a quiet More...

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Aug 22, 2010

Linda rated it:

I came across this book after doing some research (for my current novel) on junior high required reading lists, and thought I'd try it. I finished it last night, and found myself horrified that junior high students might actually be required to struggle through it. Billed as a sweet little farm tale, or a coming-of-age story of a Vermont Shaker boy, there were elements that absolutely appalled me. First let me say that I am a farm woman, used to the gritty details of farm life, and in fact, I us More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jan 07, 2010

Josiah rated it:

"'Never miss a chance', Papa had once said, 'to keep your mouth shut.'"

—A Day No Pigs Would Die, P. 91

Here is truly one of the most memorable narrative voices in modern young adult literature.

Robert Peck's life as the only surviving son of a quiet, unassuming Shaker family isn't exactly fraught with action and adventure, but it sure seems that way. I think that is because of the power embedded in the deep emotional moments of his family' More...

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Mar 18, 2010

Peacegal rated it:

This was a quiet, thoughtful YA novel about a Shaker farming family, told from the point of view of a twelve-year-old boy, Rob. Expect a gamut of emotions in this one. There is genuine humor in young Rob’s observations of life around him. However, the main plotline of the story is a tragic one. Rob lovingly raises and cares for a pet pig named Pinky. Although he had hoped to stave off Pinky’s execution by keeping her as a breeding sow, he later determines Pinky cannot breed. Rob’s is a poor hous More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 02, 2011

Audrey added it

This is a small book filled with deep,heavy,significant things like character,service,love of family and a wonderful intimacy between father and son.Robert Peck and his father Haven were simple people of the Shaker faith.They believed in everything written down in the Book of Shaker to guide them through their lives.
The story begins with Robert saving the life of his neighbor Benjamin Tanner's Holstein cow ,Apron,helping to deliver her of 2 bull calves and plucking from her throat the More...

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Aug 12, 2009

Shelley rated it:

My oldest son, James, had to read this book in middle school. A few years later, I decided to pick it up to read. Interesting story about farming and the plainspoken "Shaker" world. I am presuming this is a true story since the author's name is the same.

Pretty graphic parts in the book, but I guess that's all in a farming family's life. It starts off with the main character, Rob Peck, a 11 year old boy, helping his neighbor's cow give birth (with lots of gross detail) More...

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Sep 14, 2011

Cindi rated it:

This book has been challenged and banned several times. The author uses an authentic dialect, which some find degrading. The author also accurately describes the harsh realities of farm life and the sometimes tough decisions that must be made. Is this inappropriate for middle-school-aged children? There are also descriptions of what happens when breeding takes place between a male and female pig and the description of how pigs are slaughtered. These are graphic, however, all one needs More...

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Jan 15, 2009

Sunny rated it:

From My Summer of Challenged Books.

A Day No Pigs Would Die By Robert Newton Peck
Newberry Award Winner (I think)
8/10
This was a favorite of an ex boyfriend of mine. I can see why people love this book, but it isn't one I like to read. It is written in a matter of fact dialect, and makes you feel like you've been kicked in the stomach. If you are of a delicate nature, and can't take farm talk, stay away from this book. In the interest of not offending my journal buddie More...

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Aug 14, 2011

Sam rated it:

My english class read this book, and while my amazingly awesome english teacher also introduced me to a great little read called A Christmas Carol(woo!) I didn't care for this particular book. What can I say? It's not the book for me. I personally feel that the characters were bland. I couldn't bring myself to love, hate, or connect with any of them. Pretty much my entire emotion was disgust. Bloody cow birth, gruesome pig rape. *shudder* I remember reading the pig rape part on the bus to school More...

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Nov 09, 2011

Jennifer rated it:

The simple narrative of this story, sometimes humorous and sometimes poignant, pulled me in all the way. It made me laugh, it made me cry. The story is narrated by the main character, Robert. It is the story of how he changed from boy to man in just a few short months. The story begins when he is a 12 year old boy, covers just a little less than a year, and ends when he is 13 and has become the man of the house. We catch a glimpse of how his father is teaching and preparing him to take over the More...

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Mar 18, 2011

Amanda (Cirque Du Freak Freak) rated it:

This was a difficult book for me to read… at least the further along it got; the harder it was to read. I can’t stand watching/ reading or ever hearing anything about killing animals or them being hurt in any way, shape, or form.

I loved this book when it started out, but then I got to the part about the dog and the weasel. That made my heart ache I wanted to throw each one of them into a barrel with 50 weasels and I wanted them torn to shreds, piece by piece and bit by bit. It was More...

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Dec 16, 2009

Jeremy rated it:

Boy, nothing like starting out a kids book with ripping a goiter out of cow's neck. My reading teacher read this aloud in class. More like A Day No Kids Would Eat. Normally I really enjoy horrifically downbeat "young adult" books from this era, but this book and I never really hit it off. Give me good ol' Robert Cormier or M.E. Kerr anyday.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 09, 2008

Matthew rated it:

My seventh grade English teacher was obsessed with these types of books - the austerity of farm people - the hard, yet beautiful existence - the severity of - the quaint excitements - the repression of dirt people - 'Where The Lilies Bloom' - 'The Grapes of Wrath': Because we must expose children to the mind-numbing monotony: we pretend their lives are not filled with monotony: it is wrong for children to dream: Look! LOOK at the WHOLESOME farm people, how PURE and DIFFICULT their lives wer More...

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Aug 19, 2007

Laura rated it:

I had to read this in middle school. It was disgusting and disturbing because all I remember is one pig screaming and bleeding as the male mated with her. Sick. I didn't grow up on a farm or ever see animals mating, so I always assumed it was a quiet ordeal. Thanks to this book, I learned that it isn't.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 11, 2008

Silk added it

Read this in junior high school, and liked it, that's about all I remember, except for it has one of the most disgusting introductions to a story ever. Almost put me off reading the rest of it. But interesting story about a farm boy in a different time, in a not TOO distant past.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 20, 2011

Jessica rated it:

SPOILERS! I saw a lot of indignant reviews for this on Amazon, and I really didn't think it was so bad. The narrator's emotions are subdued and not discussed, but that doesn't mean he's insensitive. The pig breeding scene was a bit strong for young readers, but the slaughter was much more subtle and poignant than I expected after seeing all those indignant reviews. It's important that children understand where meat comes from (ask them-- they don't!), and I think the narrator's struggle with sac More...

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Aug 16, 2011

Kathy rated it:

A Day No Pigs Would Die is about an adolescent Shaker boy, Robert Peck, growing up in the Shaker culture. Early in the novel Rob receives a piglet as a reward for saving the life of a neighbor's cow. Robert names the pig Pinky and she becomes his cherished pet. Pinky is infertile however which means that the only existing alternative for the monetarily struggling Peck family is to butcher the pig. These incidents, combined with the passing away of his father deeply change Rob and force him to gr More...

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Jun 12, 2010

Reader Extraordinaire rated it:

I read this book when I was very young. This book, Charlotte's Web and Summer of My German Soldier were the first three books I ever read cover to cover. This was the absolute first. I never believed that I could read a book all the way to the end until I read this book. To me, when I was in 4th grade, a book was an intimidating thing. I also did not believe in my own abilities. This book changed my way of thinking towards books. I discovered that reading was fun and entertaining and that More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

May 26, 2009

Ollie rated it:

I love the description of remedy in this book. Rob was unfortunate enough to have to show his Aunt his report card that revealed a D in English. His thoughts on the reaction of his Aunt were "appeared a D in English was so dark a deed that no one could live it down". However, his Aunt suggested a remedy. Rob's exact thoughts were "Remedy! There was a word that struck a fever. Mama had give me a spoonful of remedy for one thing or another almost every winter and spring. It ma More...

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Jan 31, 2008

Christy rated it:

I think this is targeted to young readers, but I read it in my early teen years and it was too much for me. Adult emotional themes are a bit gritty for young readers.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 21, 2009

Peggy rated it:

Until I read this book, I had thought it was about some 1950 or 1960 youth gang's confrontration with the police. I had always heard the title and that is just what I managed to conjure up in my mind. Sooooo, I was a little surprised to learn it was about young Shaker boy. But I wasn't disappointed - NOT AT ALL. I couldn't stop reading and I plan on giving this book to several people I know. Yes, it's a young adult coming-of-age story, but it's one of those that's often best appreciated by adult More...

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