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316th out of 2,627 books
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4,847 voters
Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (Mrs. Piggle Wiggle #4)
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle loves children, healthy children. She has a big cupboard overflowing with magic pills and potions and appliances for curing them of bad habits. Like the powder that makes Phillip Carmody completely invisible when he shows off. Or the anti-slowpoke spray she uses to treat Harbin's extra-acute daydreaming disease. However unusual the problem, you can count...more
Paperback, 176 pages
Published
June 3rd 1994
by HarperCollins
(first published 1955)
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This children's book came recommended to me from a children's literature professor, but I really didn't enjoy it. It was full of troublesome kids and naive parents who would eventually go to Mrs. Piggle Wiggle for a candy-coated cure. I saw no real solution to real-life problems other than just give 'em "candy" (wink wink) to make them less annoying. (I'm not saying all kids are annoying, but the ones in this book were.) Also, I'm not really sure where this books fits into the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle...more
Mar 31, 2009
Jodi
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
young readers
Shelves:
books-read-to-my-children,
fantasy
I loved Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle as a child and I am so excited to be reading these stories to my 6 year old daughter. The chapters were long, but Emily hung in there (probably because we read at bedtime and she knows that she gets to stay up a little later). Emily does seem to be enjoying the stories though because she talks about them during the day. I wish the author had picked a little bit more normal names for her characters. I also wish that I had the magic spray for the slowpoke cure for my dau...more
This was a huge disappointment after how much we enjoyed Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Well, O. wasn't disappointed, but he's five and if it's silly, he likes it. The thing that most bothered me was that in this one, the "cures" were all magic potions, powders, etc., while in the first, they were actual things you could do (i.e. let kids who complain about going to bed stay up as late as they want until they realized that they're too exhausted to do fun things). Instead of the children learning a lesson,...more
I forgot how old these books are. They were a blast to read to our 6 and 3 yr old but we had to change a lot of the stories. I don't even know how to play tiddle-winks. In fact, to be honest, I skipped about 1/3 of every story just to make it more readable and faster at bedtime but they were still a blast to read. The kids loved the funny names and crazy things that kids did. I think it was nice for them to see exaggerations of their own behavior and the funny solutions. As of today they haven't...more
I have to say that, while my girls definitely enjoyed this book, it could not even touch the original. In the first book, Mrs Piggle Wiggle helps parents cure their kids' bad habits with clever tricks, like letting the kids who don't want to go to be stay up as late as they want or giving the girl who always talks back a taste of her own medicine with a sassy parrot. In this sequel, however, Mrs Piggle Wiggle only gives 'magic pills' and 'magic candy' as cures for bad behavior ... what a cop out...more
I've given the other Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books fours stars, but the series as a whole deserves five stars, so here's my concession. We read this in its entirety yesterday, since my daughter was down with the stomach flu. These books are really a marvel--so well-written, so creative and ingenious, and so tender too. I loved the Whisperer Cure. I've decided I want to be like Mary's Mom. I also love getting a taste of 1950s-style parenting, which is certainly different than today's brand of parentin...more
I got this book as a kid and don't remember ever reading it. I sat down and read it with Annabelle a couple weeks ago. It is not a chapter book but rather 4 or 5 short, similar, stories. (Which are LONG chapters by themselves).
Funny book. It is set in the 50's. Mom's are always baking highly fattening "healthy" food, or treats. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is the know-how-cure-all woman. Overall, it was interesting to read the differences of that era to our current era and how we do things.
Funny book. It is set in the 50's. Mom's are always baking highly fattening "healthy" food, or treats. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is the know-how-cure-all woman. Overall, it was interesting to read the differences of that era to our current era and how we do things.
Very relieved that we are now done with Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and suspect the author was relieved to be done with her too. All those annoying children and their bickering parents are swirling around in my head, indistinguishable from each other. And yes, this three-star rating is a low three. My son, loyal to the last, wouldn't let me stop reading, though at one point he failed to realize that a character named "Mr. Pierce" was actually a dog, and thought it odd that a boy was taking his father ou...more
While I still enjoyed this Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle book and remember loving it just as much in my childhood, as an adult it was noticeable to me the difference from the first novel to this one. The first novel had cures that most all parents could employ, this one, not so much. This novel was more about potion cures and not just making the kids deal with and learn to use proper behavior. Still a fun book to read to my class though :)
Genre: Modern fiction, young reader
This was not one of my favorite stories. The way it was organized made it harder for me to get through. It is full of bad behaved children and magic cures. I'm not sure if young readers today will like when there are so many other choices out there that seem to connect better with this generation. It does have silly, humorous events that children may enjoy, but I think it may be a bit outdated.
This was not one of my favorite stories. The way it was organized made it harder for me to get through. It is full of bad behaved children and magic cures. I'm not sure if young readers today will like when there are so many other choices out there that seem to connect better with this generation. It does have silly, humorous events that children may enjoy, but I think it may be a bit outdated.
Listened to this audiobook with my kids every time we were in the car together, and they really enjoyed it, which is a plus. I read all the Piggle Wiggle books as a kid, and loved, loved, loved them. Maybe it was due to the 50's traditionalism - all the moms were stay at home, baking their kids chocolate cake and brownies for their afterschool snacks, weeding the garden, putting orders in with the butcher - you know, real life : )
Hello, Mrs. Piggle- Wiggle by Betty MacDonald is about Mrs. Piggle- Wiggle curing children with special items from her husband's trunk that she found. She cured kids that bullied, moved slowly, and more! If you like this series then read this book. I enjoyed reading this book, and I hope you will to. It was very good. Please consider reading the Mrs. Piggle- Wiggle series. Peace!
Mrs Piggle Wiggle was so popular in my 2nd grade class. We could not read them fast enough. I remember them in hardcover and each one was a different color.
Still good if only for the nostalgia. Very old fashioned-- suburban moms in the 1950s stay home and make cakes every day. The character names are the best part: Harbin Quadrangle, Micky Semicolon, Mary Crackle, Pergola Wingsproggle....
Still good if only for the nostalgia. Very old fashioned-- suburban moms in the 1950s stay home and make cakes every day. The character names are the best part: Harbin Quadrangle, Micky Semicolon, Mary Crackle, Pergola Wingsproggle....
This follow up to Mrs. Piggle Wiggle is essentially the same story with different cures to new childhood issues. As always, the tales themselves are each written well and present interesting, yet fanciful, solutions to bad habits. The stories themselves were as intriguing as the first book, but there was much less background on Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and more emphasis on the children and their families.
I'm working on creating a booklist for my local public library. This book was one in consideration for this list.
This will be on the list, though, the language is a bit archaic. However, they are wonderful examples of proper behavior and chapter books. I've only read a few, but I believe the whole series will work for the list.
This will be on the list, though, the language is a bit archaic. However, they are wonderful examples of proper behavior and chapter books. I've only read a few, but I believe the whole series will work for the list.
My eight year old and I read this book for our mother-daughter book group. The other kids usually stayed up to listen as well and they liked the stories and laughed at the right parts, so I could tell they were paying attention.
We liked the stories and I think if I call my kids 'slowpokes', now they'll really understand what I mean.
We liked the stories and I think if I call my kids 'slowpokes', now they'll really understand what I mean.
Aug 17, 2012
Andrea
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
1-4 graders
Shelves:
read-aloud-to-kids
The kids loved hearing about naughty kids and how they changed with Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's magic. I think it may help kids to see their own behavior from an adult's point of view. We felt like anthropologists going back in time to the 50's and seeing how, while some things have changed, a lot of things are still the same.
Great read with my 6 year old, Paige, she loves them. Since each chapter is a unique story, we can do one a night. Although she had started calling the dog "chick-a-biddie" per the crybaby cure. And I can't help but laugh a bit at the stereotypes of the 50's housewife -- fresh baked brownies and cakes for the kids after school. Sometimes the *dads* actually up and call Mrs. Piggle Wiggle. What a contrast to the women of Mad Men.
Very cute book full of good, little lessons for kids to pick up on how not to behave. It definitely is dated, with old slang and sexist scripts but otherwise its a fun one to read to kids! Just make sure to address the sexism in one way or another so they don't think all women should sit at home making food for their family and chatting on the telephone to girlfriends while all the men go work and read about stocks and bonds and what not! My son loved the book but I think it was mostly because o...more
Nov 13, 2011
Barbara
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2011,
juvenile-literature
My second graders really enjoy listening to these stories, and they always make comments like, "I need that cure!" or "My friend does that." As an adult, these chapters seemed longer than they need to be, and somewhat alike, but it is still a cute read.
I like how Betty MacDonald plays with words as well as her cast of characters. I also adore the illustrations of Hilary Knight. I am less sold on the quick working magic fixes for all of the kids ailments and the lack of Mrs. Piggle Wiggle in the stories.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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I read this to my kids (ages 3 and 5), and they loved it as much as I did. The sly little moral lessons are an added bonus--all I have to do is refer to one of the ailments/cures, and my kids immediately change their behavior.
I listen to a lot of books on tape and when I couldn't find anything I wanted I turned to the children's section and decided to see what I'd been missing all these years. Come to find out, I wasn't missing much with this one.
Everyone loves Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle lives in an upside-down house ans smells like cookies. She was even married to a pirate once. Most of all, she knows everything about children. She can cure them of any ailment. Patsy hates baths. Hubert never puts anything away. Allen eats v-e-r-y slowly. Mrs Piggle-Wiggle has a treatment for all of them.
The incomparable Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle loves children good or bad and never scolds but has positive cures for Answer-Backers, Never-Want-to-G
...more
Listened to this on CD while on vacation, and had a hoot listening to the kids also listen. Classic and funny and oh-so-applicable. Wish I had some "accomplishment powder" for our family every once in a while.
Again, cuteness! A delightful way to spend my Saturday morning. The kids in these stories crack me up, and I love how down to earth the parents are, even when they DON'T know what to do with their kids. LOVE!
I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first. I was bothered by the fact that the cures in this one were more 'magical' as opposed to "commonsensical" and that the parents thought nothing of 'medicating' other people's children!!!
We are really loving these Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books! I can't believe I hadn't heard of them. We have been reading them to our 7 year old Nathan and he is really enjoying them. They are great.
I loved this series as a child. It's about a lovely old woman who magically solves the problems of every kid who comes to stay with her. It is a great moral series with more than a touch of whimsy.
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The first book written by Betty MacDonald,
The Egg and I
, rocketed to the top of the national bestseller list in 1945. Translations followed in more than 30 languages, along with a series of popular movies. In the wake of World War II, the hilarious accounts of MacDonald's adventures as a backwoods farmer's wife in Chimacum Valley were a breath of fresh air for readers around the world. On the ne...more
More about Betty MacDonald...
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updated May 20, 2010 04:04pm