The Piggy in the Puddle

by Charlotte Pomerantz, James Marshall (Illustrator)

A determined little piggy absolutely refuses to leave her mud puddle in this rollicking book by Charlotte Pomerantz and James Marshall!

See the piggy,
See the puddle,
See the muddy little puddle.
See the piggy in the middle
Of the muddy little puddle.

Charlotte Pomerantz’s tongue-twisting nonsense verse—made even more hilarious by James Marshall’s illustrations—is sure to delight both children and adults.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Humor, Poetry, Family, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Jim Erekson]

Best read-aloud ever! James Marshall was at his best. I loved playing with prosody in this one to help people talk about what the characters were trying to do.

[Bam cooks the books]

A Reading Rainbow book that my 3-year-old grandson enjoys with its fun rhymes and tongue-twisting repetitions. We loved doing the piggy family voices as we read aloud!

[Alex Abed]

Love this book! Great to read with a young audience. The rhyming and meter are very engaging for young listeners. Adding to the silliness and fun are the onomatopoeia and repetitive nature of the language. James Marshall's illustrations are adorable and complement Charlotte Pomerantz's language well. Overall such a fun book and a timeless classic.

[Jennifer]

I remember when I found this book at my school's Scholastic Book Fair. I don't know why it stuck in my mind all these years, probably the rhythm and rhyming of the wording. My kids get to enjoy it now too!

[Jenni Heins]

Kristin, read this to your class! You all will love it! It HAS TO be read out loud!

[Heather]

This book is all about silly rhymes and rhythms. My kids love this silly piggy! We've read it countless times.

I don't much care for the naughty piggy who doesn't listen to her parents, but my kids don't really ask my opinion about stuff like that.

A fun book to read with your little ones.

[Anthony]

A young pig enters a puddle of mud, and her family members one by one try to convince her to get out of the middle of the muddy puddle, but she refuses. When all attempts fail, her family members have no other option.

[Madeline]

This was my favorite book as a small child. It's incredibly addicting to read, great silly fun.

[Lauren]

I think I remember this from my own childhood?

[Meredith]

Little Piggy has oodles of fun in a muddy puddle and refuses to come out.

The little piggy in this tongue twister merrily wallows in a mud puddle. Her daddy tells her mud is "squishy-squashy." Her mother tells her mud is "mooshy-squooshy". And her brother tells her mud is "oofy-poofy". But nothing deters little pig who says "nope" to soap. Eventually, her family decides if you can't beat them, join them and jump in, too.

The illustrations are by George and Martha author James Marshall.

[Eme87]

One of my favorite read alouds both to read and when I was a child, to listen to my father read!

The baby pig LOVES the mud and has no desire to get out of the muddy puddle. Each family member attempts to lure her out and tells her why she should get out but each time she definitively says NOPE!

The rhymes are fun and sing-songy and the story line is straightforward. This is a great book for teaching rhyming or just practicing rhyming as well as just fun to read.

[FM Family]

This one was fine and nostalgic. Very repetitive with silly words, which is something I remember liking as a kid but my 3.5 year old never seems enthused about. Love the illustrations by James Allard, and the story is a funny little inconsequential story of pigs jumping in mud. Fun for kids who like silly rhymes and getting dirty. I did hear my kid saying "oofy poofy" the other day a few weeks after reading it, so I guess it stuck with her!

[Hodge Kids]

R (age 5) - I like it a lot, I mean I loooove it. The first little pig is my favorite. I liked the picture of the bonnet on her head. It's a really pretty bonnet-- why is she getting it muddy? Hopefully it's mud-proof!

C (age 3) - I liked about it is that they all jumped into the pile!

[Shari (Shira)]

A tongue-twisting gigglefest in the spirit of HOP ON POP. Sister Piggy will not get out of the mud puddle to wash even when compelled by her mother, father, and brother.

[Lafcadio]

A ridiculous rhyming pile of words, à la Seuss.

[Mary Ann Yost]

Favorite rhyming book!

[Cheryl]

Oh I wish I knew a little one to read this to. So much fun even silently to oneself, but aloud, oh goodness.

[Sarah]

LOVE!

[JC Maxwell]

Best book for reading out loud to littles. Reading Rainbow knows how to pick 'em!

[Kristen]

I forgot how much I loved this book as a child. Got to love Grad School assignments bringing back flashes from the past!

[Pam]

Children's. Humorous story about a pig who won't leave the puddle.

[Deidra Chamberlain]

So fun to read out loud.

[Sandy]

I had to get this book for our shelf because I remember my Mom reading it to me in the late 70s / early 80s. Lots of fun rhyming words and a cute and entertaining story that kids engage with.

[JulieAnn]

I have this one memorized. I would read it to my boys and see how fast I could do it. It’s a lesson in diction. I loved this book.

[Kristin Nelson]

Silly story with repetitive, tongue-twisting text! James Marshall adds to the fun with his illustrations.

[Tara]

A great story about family dynamics with awesome pictures.

[David Johnson]

Classic for kids!

[KhiN’Millie Friesen]

They jumped in together -Khi 3

[Erin]

Rhyme and tongue twisters make it fun to read

[Syntaxx]

great fun for beginning readers! lots of rhymes and onomatopoeia.
i like the illustration style.