The Pig in the Pond

by Martin Waddell, Jill Barton (Illustrator)

Pigs don't swim, or so it's said. But on one of the hottest days of the summer, the pig on Neligan's farm sits by the pond feeling envious of the ducks and the geese floating in the cool water. Finally, when she can endure the heat no longer—splash!—this sweltering pig takes a dive, throwing the entire farm into an uproar. It isn't long, however, before the refreshing idea catches on, and the pig finds that she's got company! This spirited tale with its exuberant illustrations is sure to be a hit with all those young and old who ever wanted to take the plunge.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Childrens, Humor, Fiction, Summer, Storytime

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_W...

Also writes under the pen name Catherine Sefton

Martin Waddell is the author of more than one hundred books for young readers.

Awards: Hans Christian Andersen Award for Writing (2004).

Reviews

[Diva · Rating 5 out of 5]

he he, I read this in our university library, and felt all the better for it, sometimes, there's nothing better than a book on a pig to make you forget your worries. no matter how big they are, there is nothing more important than a children's book!

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quack quack, honk honk, oink oink 🦆🐦🐷

[Micheál Hanratty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hey everyone, this is my 4th review, 'The Pig in the Pond' by Martin Waddell. Essentially, this story is about Farmer Neligan's pig. It is a very warm day at the farm and the pig becomes agitated when he sees the ducks and geese keeping cool in the water. As the title of the story suggests the pig jumps into the pond to refresh herself. Soon, word spreads around the farm that a pig is in a pond with ducks and geese. When Farmer Neligan arrives at the scene, he decides to jump into the water also. Indeed, after a a while all the birds and animals in the surrounding area leap into the pond.
This is a story that is filled with excitement from the outset. I admire the colourful illustrations by Jill Barton which accompany the text. This is the type of story which children aged 5 and 6 years would find deeply amusing. The language in the text is very appropriate to the age range I've stated. This book introduces children to lots of refreshing sounds such as animal sounds: oink, oink; quack, quack. Also the book provides sounds that water makes: Splash, sploosh.

This book has many advantages, in that it can be used across the national curriculum.In particular in dealing with the subject of Geography, the children in the above age category can be introduced to Weather and temperature (Summer hottest time of year). In terms of P.S.H.E. the class can look at how the pig broke rules and in 'Circle time' they (the children) can reflect on occasions when they broke rules. Finally, this story presents lots of ideas for Physical Education for example the children could jump around in a square pretending they are splashing, like the pig in the water.

[Amal · Rating 4 out of 5]

We all know that pigs do not swim, so what makes Neligan’s pig jump into the pond? The pig in the pond is a book about a pig burning in the scorching sun, he sits beside the pond watching the ducks swimming away all day long, until he decides that he needs to cool down and jumps into the pond. The shock of the story is when Neligan arrives back at the farm to find the pig in the pond, his reaction is to take off all his clothes and join in.

I read this book to my niece who is nursery and she loved it, her favourite part was when Neligan joined the animals in the pond. A wonderful book that can encourage speaking and listening activities amongst young children, additionally it can be used when studying a unit on farms with key stage 1.

[Zoe Hickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This would be a great shared read as it is very versatile. They can make predictions, talk about feelings, what noises different animals make (for younger children). I would recommend this for a shared read with KS1 children. Great repetition and small amounts of rhyme included too.

[Isobel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was intriguing and has illustrations that would help the children to question. Therefore I think it would be good for using it during shared reading.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5 sterren - Nederlandse hardcover

Quote: In het water gesprongen?'
'Tjonge-tjonge...'
'Het varken is in het water gesprongen.'
'Ga weg! 't Is niet waar!'

Floortje, het varken, heeft het heel warm. Ze ziet de eenden vrolijk spetteren in het water. En hoewel het niet normaal is voor varkens om het water in te duiken, neemt Floortje een aanloop en... plons!

Bij de kleinkinderen is dit het favoriete boek in de zomer! Ik lees het graag voor. Je kan het lekker spannend maken! Het is niet te lang, niet te veel tekst, leuke plaatjes en een bijzondere afloop!

De kleinkinderen genoten ervan en ik ook.
Ik geef het boek ook graag als kraamcadeautje, weer eens iets anders dan een rompertje of een truitje.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Pig in the Pond by Martin Waddell is a wonderful and amusing read for young children. I came across this book while spending time in a class with 5-6yr olds. The children got tremendous enjoyment out of this book and the beautiful illustrations that accompany the story. The story is about a farmer called Neligan and his pig who on a hot summers day after seeing the geese and ducks cooling off in the pond, jumps in too! When Neligan discovers that the pig has jumped into the pond, he takes off his clothes and joins him. There is great excitement when the rest of the animals find out that both Neligan and the pig along with some other animals are in the pond. The colourful illustrations help to bring the book to life along with the onomatopoeic words in the text e.g. Splash, Sploosh. The story also introduces children to the noises certain animals make such as quack, honk and oink.

When I read this book with a young class, the animal noises, water sounds, tone of language used and the repetition of phrases / words helped the children interact and created an exciting atmosphere in the classroom. I feel this book is suitable for the younger years in KS1 and can be used alongside a number of topics e.g. The farm, PSHE, Art and creative writing.

[Paul Mcgoldrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Pig in the Pond. One day a farmer called Neligan left his farm and went into town.It was a warm day on Neligans farm, while the Geese and the Ducks enjoyed relaxing in the pond Neligans pig sat in the sun.The combination of the sun and the other animals enjoying the pond lead to a massive “SPLASH” with the Pig jumping in the pond.While the Pig splashed in the Ducks and the Geese splashed out.On Neligans return he was greeted with the pig in the pond. Neligan and the rest of the animals decided to join the Pig in the pond and create a big “SPLOOOSH”.
I have read this story with my nieces numerous times. They are huge fans as the book is great fun. The book is filled with repetition and it allows children to participate in the reading of the book. They also love the quick tempo of the book. The illustrations are great and really bring the book to life. They particularly enjoy when Neligan and the rest of the animals get in the pond.
I feel this book is very good and would be good for nursery school children. It could be used when learning about different farm animals.

[Charlotte Peters · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a pig who jumps in a pond and when the farmer returns, he joins the pig in the pond and so do the animals. The story uses a lot of repetition of animal noises and this can be great to get the class really involved in reading the story. Also the story has very clear events and therefore can be used in a year 2 class very easily as a sequencing exercise. Furthermore children can use this book to learn about the structure of stories and the sections are easily distinguish and finally this can be used to encourage their own story writing. As well as part of English, this book could be used as a guided reading task in year 2 and upwards or as part of a story time in earlier year groups.

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could use this book as a starting point in a first-grade class to begin exploring literacy and identifying plots, main characters, problems, solutions, settings, and sequencing of the story line. After a first read aloud, as a class, we would recall what the order of events were and then from there create questions that will require going back into the story to look for the answers. Example questions could be, “What time of year is it?”, “Who are the main characters in this story?”, “Why did the pig jump in the pond?”, etc.

[Ella Dovey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful watercolour illustrations by Jim Barton, lots of animal noises so good for learning animal sounds for young readers. The moral of the story is about breaking stereotypes (just because "pigs don't swim" doesn't mean they shouldn't), going for it and getting involved with life. Teaching children that sometimes you need to be the first one to dive straight into something and then others will follow. Could encourage children to have fun and do what feels good- don't hold back because of what you've been told, try it for yourself and see! A very enjoyable story.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our library recently had a sale and I attacked the boxes of 25 cent children's books. Upon bringing home the spoils, this was the first chosen by my youngest and I think the cover is obvious as to why. This is a fun and repetitive book to read aloud. The words are simple, ideal for young readers, and the pictures are extremely cute.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pigs can't swim (I guess) but on a very hot day on Neligan's farm, the pig jumps in the pond, which surprises all the animals and the farmer.

The usual playful farm animal stuff, sounds and whatnot. Pretty good gestural but realistic watercolor art, but not a lot of variety of light and dark. The text mentions ducks and geese, but I only see ducks.

[Libby Haydon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book for Early Years. Use of repetition and onomatopoeia. The book could be used for a project across the whole curriculum, covering a varity of subjects. It has a lovely moral of friendship and inclsuion at the end of the story.

[Alice Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great story for a whole shared read with a Reception or Year One class. Can talk about Nelligan, describe the pig and the use of repetition offers to chance for children to join in. Also good for Phonics.

[Alice Billington · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the perfect book to read with Reception or Year 1. It's very funny and the use of rhyme offers the chance for the children to join in with the teacher as well. We could discuss how each of the characters are feeling throughout the story or use the book as part of a topic.

[Sue Read · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glorious illustrations and plenty of different page layouts to make the reader look and follow and think. Familiar farm yard characters this time experiencing a very hot day, plenty of repetition, noisy words and actions. What will Farmer Neligan do?

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

We read this and laughed and laughed and laughed when my kids were younger.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story of Neligan's Pig, and how her sudden impulse on the hottest day of the summer started a sudden chain reaction on the entire farm.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

***There is a small portion of the book that does show the guy's plumber crack.***

This was one of those cute books that would be much better shared with young readers instead of having them read alone since you can customize your read in any number of fun sort of ways. The Pig In the Pond explores what happens on a very hot day when the farmer leaves home and the pig seems to have no where to go to save her "bacon".

The writing style of the book very much reflects the same style as The House That Jack Built while at the same time relying on repetitive portions to get the story from one point to another. Fortunately it is the latter that can be customized or worked upon to make the story your very own.

The illustrations are brightly colorful and detailed while giving the animals, especially the piggy some charm. As a result I took the time to study every page to find the silliest element like the frog sitting on the bird's butt or the cat on its back.

All in all it was a cute story even though there should be no worries that pigs cannot swim as they can, and especially when you consider how shallow that pond seemed to be in the end.

[Nadina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose to read this because it was the same author as Owl Babies, which is just such a lovely story. This was cute and fun, but I felt like there was something it lacked, perhaps it is just that children's literature has changed so much that not having any memory of being exposed to this as a child, and not knowing it to be a popular kids book, it is a picture book of it's time and a bit outdated.
The illustrations are cute, and the story is fun, but in general it is just average and it would not be a first pick recommendation.

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

On a hot day a farmer’s pig noticed the ducks keeping cool in the pond and decides to join them. Soon the news spreads across the farm and other animals, and even the farmer join in. Amusing and engaging for preschool and a little older. Children will enjoy making the different animal sounds. The illustrations are nice as well.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

On a hot summer day, the pig is sweltering, so he splashes into the pond and displaces the geese. The geese spread the news throughout all the farm animals until the farmer comes to see what the commotion is all about...

[Fran · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is so enjoyable. Reading it with young children, allows them to enjoy making the sounds of the animals and link in with them jumping in puddles when it has rained.

This can be a very interactive book for young children. I personally really enjoyed reading it.

[Miss Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a very hot summer day a pig jumps into the farmer's pond. All the other animals are shocked and run to see the pig in the pond. This is a fun read-out-loud. I had the children join in saying the animal sounds.

[Eliza Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good to read aloud for Reception of KS1.

[Zoe Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about about a pig who wanted to go in the pond with the geese and the ducks.

[Kym · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read aloud book

[Caroline Herfindahl]

It’s a hot day will pig get in the pond? Who else will join him?