What do you think?
A Preston Pig Story
Boo!: A Preston Pig Story
Preston Pig is back in this suspenseful and hilarious adventure!
32 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
About the author
Colin McNaughton
165 books27 followersGrowing up in his native England, the young Colin McNaughton had little indication that he would one day become an author-illustrator. There were no books at all in his parents' home, he recalls, but there were always comics. These were his formative literature, and their slapstick humor has been a lasting influence. "I've been talking about the comic format for years," he says. "It's the modern way of telling stories for today's children; it's about movement, the step between film and the book."
Colin McNaughton says he "hated school. The word 'school' still gives me nightmares." Opting for technical college, he admits he even "made a mess of getting in there -- I'd filled out the application wrong, and when I turned up for registration they'd never heard of me!" So he worked at odd jobs for the next year before entering art school. Although his first book was published while he was still in school, Colin McNaughton did not immediately become a full-time artist. He first tried editorial and advertising work, but did not find the satisfaction that he got out of creating children's books. "At the end of it, there it is, a book on the shelf, not like a newspaper in the gutter. In fact, once you start thinking about it, it's a smashing job!" If the response to his books is any indication, children and adults seem to agree that Colin McNaughton is doing a "smashing job."
Colin McNaughton lives in London with his wife.
Colin McNaughton says he "hated school. The word 'school' still gives me nightmares." Opting for technical college, he admits he even "made a mess of getting in there -- I'd filled out the application wrong, and when I turned up for registration they'd never heard of me!" So he worked at odd jobs for the next year before entering art school. Although his first book was published while he was still in school, Colin McNaughton did not immediately become a full-time artist. He first tried editorial and advertising work, but did not find the satisfaction that he got out of creating children's books. "At the end of it, there it is, a book on the shelf, not like a newspaper in the gutter. In fact, once you start thinking about it, it's a smashing job!" If the response to his books is any indication, children and adults seem to agree that Colin McNaughton is doing a "smashing job."
Colin McNaughton lives in London with his wife.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 9, 2021
A nice family read
November 7, 2017
Follows the structure of Allen and Janet Ahlberg’s ‘Funny Bones’ with a pig like version of ‘Burglar Bill’. Loved it!
January 31, 2020
Funny story. Perfect for an Early Years read.
October 1, 2019
This was one of my favourite books as a child. It is about a little pig called Preston who goes around the town as a masked avenger and scares the people round the town such as the shopkeeper, Billy the bully, the school teacher and his dad. He also sneaks past the wolf's house and whispers 'boo' as he knows better not to scare the wolf.
There is a lot of repetition in this book as he scares one person after another and lots of words are repeated such as 'boo', 'disappears into the night' and 'the Masked Avenger'.
I would use this book to teach children about alliteration such as 'Billy the Bully' or slinking shadows'. There is also a good moral to the book that there will be consequences to any action- his dad catches him when he tries to scare him and sends him to bed without any dinner. This teaches children that there will normally be a consequence when they have done something bad.
This book can be used in a comprehensive activity as you can ask children how they think each character felt when Preston had scared them, and how Preston felt when either his dad sent him to his room with no dinner or when Preston's dad scared him. You could also ask them to imagine who else Preston could've scared and how they felt. Then, you could ask them if they've ever been scared and ask them how they felt if they were crept up upon, therefore linking back to their prior experiences.
I would pitch this book at upper KS1/ lower KS2 as it is a fairly easy book to read and many words the children would know (but the teacher should clarify any words that they don't know). As it is a picture book it should engage the children in their learning and there are lots colours and word fonts that the children might find interesting to look at.
There is a lot of repetition in this book as he scares one person after another and lots of words are repeated such as 'boo', 'disappears into the night' and 'the Masked Avenger'.
I would use this book to teach children about alliteration such as 'Billy the Bully' or slinking shadows'. There is also a good moral to the book that there will be consequences to any action- his dad catches him when he tries to scare him and sends him to bed without any dinner. This teaches children that there will normally be a consequence when they have done something bad.
This book can be used in a comprehensive activity as you can ask children how they think each character felt when Preston had scared them, and how Preston felt when either his dad sent him to his room with no dinner or when Preston's dad scared him. You could also ask them to imagine who else Preston could've scared and how they felt. Then, you could ask them if they've ever been scared and ask them how they felt if they were crept up upon, therefore linking back to their prior experiences.
I would pitch this book at upper KS1/ lower KS2 as it is a fairly easy book to read and many words the children would know (but the teacher should clarify any words that they don't know). As it is a picture book it should engage the children in their learning and there are lots colours and word fonts that the children might find interesting to look at.
August 9, 2019
A Preston Pig story. Lots of very funny scenes - perfect to read aloud to a class. Should be read after Suddenly, by the same author, to make full sense of the jokes. Will make children laugh along and ask for more! KS1.
March 19, 2022
Made me laugh.
April 15, 2014
KS1 love to read this book, they especially love saying Boo! when the page turns. The story is about a plump pig called Preston, who has the title ‘Masked Avenger’. Preston scares his neighbours by shouting, (yes, you guessed it), “Boo!”. Apparently, Preston is meant to be quite cat-like, this is shown through the way he scares his teacher. He also has a non-existent encounter with Mr Wolf and makes a clever decision (you should see what Mr Wolf is reading).
The story is interesting and has the children laughing with the different ways you could say boo. This book would be best used during story mapping or during story time in a year one class. The book is enjoyable to read, the illustrations are nice to look at and the added funny doings of the Masked Avenger is something that the children will not forget.
The story is interesting and has the children laughing with the different ways you could say boo. This book would be best used during story mapping or during story time in a year one class. The book is enjoyable to read, the illustrations are nice to look at and the added funny doings of the Masked Avenger is something that the children will not forget.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews