[close] "See the piggy, / See the puddle, / See the muddy little puddle. / See the piggy in the middle / Of the muddy little puddle. / See her dawdle, see her diddle / In the muddy, muddy middle. / See her waddle, plump and little, / In the very merry middle." So begins Charlotte Pomerantz's irresistibly catchy verse story The Piggy in the Puddle. It's the classic "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" tale, as the little she-piggy's father, mother, and brother take turns exhorting her to exit the mud puddle in which she is frolicking, only to have her respond with a happy "Nope!" One by one, they give up and plunge into the puddle where they too discover the joys of the "squishy-squashy, mooshy-squooshy, oofy-poofy" mud.

James Marshall, creator of the George and Martha books, provides the perfect visual accompaniments. True to form, he depicts the admonishing father pig ("See her daddy, / Fuddy-duddy, fuddy-duddy, fuddy-duddy. / 'Don't you get all muddy, / Muddy muddy muddy muddy") as a large, fez-wearing, mustachio-sporting hog, standing on a box of soap. All you can see of the scolded little pig is the end of her snout and the word "Nope!" Young children will delight in the silly, repetitive verse of this Reading Rainbow Book--and of course the forbidden pleasures of being in the middle of a messy, messy muddle. (Excellent read-aloud for preschoolers, but perfect for early readers ages 4 and older) --Karin Snelson [close]