This Little Piggy: An Imaginative Interactive Picture Book About Silly Piggies for Children

by Tim Harrington

Children and parents will find lots to laugh about in indie-rocker Tim Harrington’s first picture book, This Little Piggy . Everybody knows the this-little-piggy game—the big toe is the little piggy who went to market, and the baby toe is the little piggy who went wee wee wee all the way home.
 
But what about the toes on the other foot? It turns out none of those piggies is eating roast beef…. One is playing the drums. One is riding a go-kart. One is dancing. One is flying a plane. And one of the little piggies has built a rocket ship and is traveling into outer space!
 
Now that Les Savy Fav’s Tim Harrington has added his own hilarious twist, the game of this-little-piggy will never be the same. There is also a free song online that parents can download to go along with the text.
 

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Nursery Rhymes, Humor, Childrens, Fantasy, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 14, 2013

About the author

A resident of Taunton, Massachusetts, Tim Harrington has been an elementary school teacher for more than 20 years. His interests include reading (especially mysteries and suspense), writing, and animal rescue (with a special affinity for rabbits). A FIRST GRADE FATALITY is his second book. His first book, MEMORIES OF MURDER, was published in 2010. He welcomes comments at AFirstGradeFatality@aol.com .

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute. Starts with the traditional rhyme, but the other foot does much more exciting things. So the original toes set off to do their own exciting stuff, before they get tired and go through a bedtime routine. Sweet, and cleverer than I thought originally looking at the cover.

[Margaret Chind · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the silliest, most ridiculous book I have ever seen and if you can get beyond the unappendaged independent toes there are plenty of new laughs to be had. Tradition has probably taught you the little piggy song, but now you can learn many more verses full of laugh out loud quality. Bright and colorful and appropriate for any little one.

I received this product free for the purpose of reviewing it. I received no other compensation for this review. The opinions expressed in this review are my personal, honest opinions. Your experience may vary. Please read my full disclosure policy for more details.


posted: http://creativemadnessmama.com/blog/2...

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

So fun! Would be great to do with preschoolers as they'd be familiar with the original rhyme. You could even extend the book by asking the kids about other things things the piggies might like to do.

[Ruth Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable illustrations of feet and toes, with the traditional rhyme, then transition to independent toes having even more fun!
Ends with a bedtime routine.

[Ashley Dam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells a funny tale of counting toes. This book starts out with one foot how we normally start "This Little Piggy." Then the book goes onto the other foot which gives each toe or 'piggy; a different role. Such as this little piggy dug dancing, flew planes, sold hot dogs, loved paints, built a spaceship, etc. I love how this book introduces different roles and puts a twist on the original version of "This Little Piggy." To make this story more interactive a teacher can make finger puppets and use them as props during the story. Children will get a good laugh while reading this book because it has silly aspects. There are endless opportunities teachers can use while reading this book to children. This book would be appropriate for Pre-Kindergarten. A good activity to accomplish with children would be to use counting to the full extent. Children can count each one of their toes and also use one to one correspondence. This will allow children to know that only one little toe has one trait and then move onto the next little toe with a different trait. Another activity I can accomplish with children would be to have them make their own "This Little Piggy" song. This will become meaningful to children and make learning math and counting fun.

[Olivia Prinz · Rating 5 out of 5]

1.None
2.K-2
3. The book starts off by telling the commonly known nursery rhyme about toes. The book then goes on to talk about the other foot and all the adventures that those toes go on that are outside of the box and how the other foot doesn't want to be generic anymore and wants to go on fun adventures too. The book ends with both feet full of toes doing all sorts of fun things and then finally resting and going to bed after going home.
4. I thought that this book was super cute. I love that the author included the original nursery rhyme in the beginning and then played with it without changing the original.
5. One good use for this book in the classroom would be to use it in a lesson about individuality. This book starts off generic and then when the toes learn there are other things to do they want to change and be their own person which is something a lot of kids have a hard time understanding. I think that this would be a great book to have the students read and discuss the changes that the toes made as characters to help them understand that we have to often do different things in life to discover who we are and what we like.

[Gabriella Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is appropriate for pre-k to kindergarten. This book is a retelling of the original nursery rhyme "This Little Piggy". The first few pages follow the traditional nursery rhyme. As the story continues the toes fly planes, paint, and become astronauts. I love the large text and simplicity of the book. The pages are all colorful and attention grabbing. The story is very creative and cute. This book is great for introducing children to independent reading. It's also a great read aloud for pre-k or kindergarten classrooms, and a great book option to make it more interactive and fun for students.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

1. Awards: None
2. Level: PreK-K
3. Summary: This book tells a funny tale of counting toes! This version of the original song adds new twists that are perfect for kids. “This Little Piggy” also has an audio that can be played while reading. The story gives each toe or “piggy” a different role or job.
4. Review: This is a great book for children. There are endless possibilities for learning with “This Little Piggy”. I would most likely not use the audio in my lessons, but it is available with this version of the story.
5. Lessons: This story can be used to each counting and memorization.

[Cassandra Hoso · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most children are fully aware of the "this little piggy" rhyme, but have never read a story about it. This book was very entertaining, and gave a deeper look into what these little piggies do throughout the day. The author made it interesting by even having some of the little piggies going to the disco during the day, or being a super hero. I thought that this book provided really good illustrations, and was a perfect book to bring into any household to teach a child about the whole meaning behind the little piggies that were shown on toes.

[Kady · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't get into adult books right now so instead, here's another fun kids book. This is by the lead singer of Les Savy Fav(!) and Emmy really likes the colors and rhythm. There are a couple of text-dense pages that a do abridged versions of because her attention wanders, but otherwise a silly, fun read.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone knows the story of this little piggy who went to market and so on. But what about the piggies on the other foot? Those piggies go go-karting, dance, and eat roast beef. The book also has a link to a related song. Fun book with a creative twist on the "this little piggy" rhyme.

[Sarah Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is good for toddlers or infants to engage with their parents. It is fun and shows the children new words. I think this book shows an interaction between parents and children. It makes the book fun with the action that the parent can use.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

We really liked this book. So much fun to see the creativity of the new little piggies and how they inspire the original set of piggies to stretch their wings. Just a cute, fun, bedtime book for littles.

[Margaret Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Might be one of my new storytime favorites! Who doesn't want to hear about superhero "piggies?"

[Ebony White · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book are wonderful. I found a review of this book here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQBix...

[Beronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too cute!

[Tressa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Little Piggy was cute and colorful. It starts out as the traditional tale and then the piggies start to have cool adventures. The story and drawings made me smile.

[Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this classic to my son

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hahaha!! This hilarious book gives a whole new spin on what toes are capable of doing. A sure hit at story time! (Warning: lots of pictures of disembodied toes having fun and doing crazy stuff).

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly can't decide whether this book is super cute or super weird but I like it I guess....??

[linnybee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not gonna lie, I got this one to freak my husband out with. But he actually liked it and that made me like it better, too. Quite clever.

[MeganRuth - Alohamora Open a Book · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think 2s and 3s and maybe FST.

[Nanny B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book!
A saying I've know for 50 year with a lot of fun and crazy added in. Just great!!

[The Literary Jedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

*summer school coursework on childhood literacy development

[Gabriella Pugliese · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Little Piggy written by Tim Harrington is a classic story with a new spin. This book has not received any awards and is recommended for children in the grades preschool through third grade.

This version of the classic nursery rhyme, The Three Little Pigs, shows the five toes that represent the pigs observe what is going on on the other foot. Instead of doing the usual stuff that the normal pigs do, these piggies obtain the interest of flying airplanes, selling hot dogs, dancing, and painting. These piggies inspire the regular piggies to venture out and begin doing more creative things with their time such as chewing gum and racing go-karts.

This Little Piggy is a great extension story from the original. Children will love the new twist on a classic nursery rhyme. It is an enjoyable book for everyone.

In-Class Uses:
-Comparing and contrasting The Three Little Pigs to This Little Piggy.
-Discussing rhyming within literature.

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is what I think of as a 'daddy book'-- the kind of upside-down, sideways elaborating on a classic theme that comes from noodling around with classic texts and doing something completely different with them in an attempt to finally get a child to sleep/listen/whatever (In our house, it is "Once upon a time there was a father who was trying to stall...")
Of course, the five little 'piggies' (toes) at first do the classic things. But the piggies on the other foot have so much more fun and creativity, that they inspire their sibs on the other foot to more adventurous activities. This leaves both sets of piggies tired and ready for bed. The repetitive structure, single line activities capped by a much longer multi-clause description of the activities of the baby toe, is comforting and while the rhymes stumble a bit, it's good enough for preschool bedtimes. The wild-and-crazy toes' exploits are simply illustrated with plenty of fun detail (the piggie who goes to outer space and sets up a robot repair shop has a 'toe' truck in the shape of a sneaker) that children will enjoy looking at. Disembodied toes are a bit tricky to draw, but the general shape/concept is captured. (The book would have been just as interesting with non-Caucasian feet though.) While this is a great book for preschooler bedtime, it was a hit with my seven year old, who read it to himself and let me read it to him (twice in a row!) for bedtime.

[Diana Turnbull · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. No awards received
2. Appropriate grade levels: Pre-K-2nd grade
3. Original summary: A classic nursery rhyme most children have heard of and had their toes wiggled to, "This Little Piggy" by Daniel Harrington starts out just like the original. It shows a child's foot on the page, with the toes marked as well as where the little piggy's go. However, the story then goes on to show what happens to the little piggy's on the other foot! With interesting endeavors and colorful illustrations, this book will have children thrilled about the adventures these little piggy's embark on, with a smile on their faces.
4. Original review: This book is awesome because it can be used from toddlers to 7-8 year-olds! It is a silly spin on the original "This Little Piggy" that will have kids hysterical laughing and engaged in the text. It can be used as an interactive read-aloud, with the children wiggling their own toes if the teacher allows!
5. 1-2 possible in-class uses:
-To discuss rhyming within literature
-To compare and contrast to the original story

[Robert Beveridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tim Harrington, This Little Piggy (Balzer and Bray, 2013)

I found This Little Piggy, a rather twisted tale about the normal little piggies everyone knows and their bitter, free-spirited, emo/goth, and/or otherwise very-different-little-piggy cousins on the other foot, highly amusing. The Bean, on the other hand, was not terribly impressed with it. I'm hoping it's an age thing (he's two) and that he will eventually grow into it; I'm planning on pulling it out of the library again in about six months, give or take, to see if it goes any better this time. If you have a thing for fractured fairy tales, on the other hand, even (maybe especially) if you don't have kids, you'll want to check this one out. It's a good time. ***

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hate feet. And floating toes doing things such as playing guitars and chewing gum totally freaks me out. However, this book won 2 stars from me because it reminded me of the Lawrence Welk skits on SNL. I pictured Kristen Wiig reading the longer pages with her high forehead and baby hands. Hysterical.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this reimagined version of the rhyme "This Little Piggy" the toes on one foot do the familiar actions of the classic rhyme while the toes on the other foot dance, fly planes, and all sorts of cool things.

Artwork was rendered digitally and is vibrant and cute. Feet can be kinda gross, but these toes are just plain cute. A fun read aloud, especially for toddlers and prek.