What This Story Needs Is a Hush and a Shush: A Charming Bedtime Picture Book About a Pig Seeking Quiet for Kids (Ages 4-8)

Pig in a Wig

by Emma J. Virjan

Join Pig in another fun read-aloud adventure on the farm and find out if she'll ever catch some ZZZs!

What this bedtime needs
is a pig in a wig
brushing her teeth,
combing her hair,
and getting ready for bed
with her pink teddy bear.

But with a honk, a quack, a moo, and more, it turns out what this bedtime really needs is a quieter place to sleep!

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

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 26, 2016

Reviews

[Matt]

A cute bedtime story that deals with rhymes. A pig is ready to go to sleep, has grabbed her teddy bear, but is struggling to get to sleep. Apparently, everyone on the farm wants to offer their own 'goodnight' sentiments: boo, baa, neigh, tweet, etc. This is so noisy and Pig banishes them to the barn. However, things get a little TOO quiet, so she joins her friends, where she can sleep beside them. Neo likes a good bedtime story and this one made him laugh, while holding his attention. One of those quick 'library grabs' that serves to entertain before shut-eye.

[Becky]

First sentence: What this bedtime needs is a pig in a wig, brushing her teeth, combing her hair, and going to bed with her new teddy bear.

Premise/plot: Pig in a wig is ready for bed, but as she is settling in for the night, she has some guests drop by for a sleepover. Noisy barn animals have come! Will Pig in a wig handle the situation well?

My thoughts: I very much like the series overall. I think Virjan is great with rhythm and rhyme. Not every author who makes the attempt is. Good rhythm is more than finding words that rhyme. A good author also cannot be ruled by the rhymes, the story has to be a STORY. I would definitely recommend this series!

[Fatima Seraj Alam]

I will never understand books or movies where one species of animals gain sentient superiority over other species. Why does the pig in the wig sleep with a teddy bear in a bed in a house and the rest of the animals in a barn? How can the pig speak and order animals to go back to barn in English while the rest of the animals can only moo, baa, neigh?

[Jennifer]

This is almost more of a early reader than a bedtime story. It's typical Pig in a Wig with a bedtime focus. Lots of animals, lots of onomatopoeia and lots of fun, with a little bit of sleep at the end.

[Alyssa]

Love these books! Perfect read-alikes for lovers of Elephant and Piggie.

[Margaret Chind]

Originally posted on Creative Madness Mama.


I was delighted with the first book for the new A Pig in a Wig Series and I’m just as enthusiastic about the second book if not more so. A great bedtime book, but also one for naps, or any reading practice in between. Short building phrases and animal interest keep this quirky pig in a great pile for reading practice.



This review was originally posted on Creative Madness Mama.

[Mary Lee]

Not as accessible for beginning readers as the first book was, but still fun. Love that pig!

[Heidi]

In this second amusing story in the Pig in a Wig series, the main character is trying to get to sleep, when the other farm animals come to visit. The problem is that they do so very loudly. Once again we have a delightful book for teaching young children about characters, and settings, and plots, as well as about secondary characters, and problems and solutions. On top of that the rhyming scheme is delightful and makes the book fun to read out loud. And the cute twist at the end doesn't hurt things either as it shows the fun that can come when things end a bit differently than one might expect.

[Becky B]

Pig in a wig is trying to get ready for bed but WAY too many friends try to join her and it isn't quiet at all. Will anyone get some sleep?

A fun bedtime story. Pig's bed gets VERY packed with a wide array of animals before she's had enough. Each one makes a noise as they're introduced so lots of animal noises for kids to match with the correct animal. The ending has a humorous twist I enjoyed, and kids likely will too. I think this is my favorite Pig in a Wig story.

[Jo Oehrlein]

Animal sounds and bedtime and too much noise and then not enough company.

The rhymes are spaced further apart than in book #1 (What This Story Needs Is a Pig in a Wig), but it's still a cute rhyming story about a pig and her many friends.

[Bethe]

a bedtime version of pig in a wig, good also for animal noise or bedtime storytimes

[Diane]

What this story needs a pig in a wig trying to get some sleep!

[Miss Sarah]

The pig in a wig is getting reading for bed and needs some quiet. preschool and up

[Kristi]

Unfortunately we didn't enjoy this book as much as the original Pig in a Wig. My 3-year old wasn't very interested in it, but maybe we'll try again in a couple years.

[Lucca]

6 yo: I liked making all the sounds of the barn yard animals. The pig in a wig made me laugh because it was unexpected.

[CTWard]

A solid beginning readers book for ages 4-8. Focuses on sight words and rhyming. A great bed-time story as well. Fun story for both children and adult readers.

[Katie]

It's hard to sleep with all that noise in the farm house! :D

(Better than the first book.)

[Mari]

simple, might be cute for bed time... the animals make sounds like in what the lady bug heard

[Michelle]

My 7 year old daughter was able to read this book all by herself.

[Charlie]

This was so fun! Elliott enjoyed it quite a lot, we might have to buy a copy for ourselves. (She picked this one up at the library)

[Theresa]

Pig can’t sleep because of the noise his animal friends are making.
Simulat to the Cat in the Hat books

[Tasha]

This second book in the A Pig in a Wig series keeps up the zany silliness of the first even though it’s a bedtime story. Pig is getting ready for bed still in her wig, brushing her teeth and combing her hair. She’s all settled into bed with her teddy bear when other animals start showing up and making noise. They all climb into the bed with Pig, but soon it is too much to take and Pig shushes them all and sends them back to the barn. Soon all is silent again until the owl outside Pig’s window starts to hoot. Where will she find a quiet place to sleep?

Just as with the first book, this book is written in a jaunty and bouncy rhyme that sets a brisk pace. Despite the silliness and the rhyme though, the book does slow down at the end in a natural way, becoming downright dozy by the end. The illustrations are simple and funny, particularly when all of the animals are piled high on the bed.

A great addition to beginning reader collections, this book had just the right mix of silly and sleepy. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

[Jillian]

I don't believe my library has any other Pig in a Wig books, and that is a grave oversight on our part. For one thing....I may never find out WHY the Pig wears a Wig. For another, this book is too cute for us to miss having the others.
Pig's face as the other animals keep crawling in is priceless.
This will probably work better as a one-on-one book rather than a storytime book, simply because of the size. A group won't be able to appreciate the pictures as much as one Small Person in a lap.

[Rachel]

An entertaining bedtime book that will surely amuse children, I'm slightly disappointed that I don't personally own a pink teddy bear like the pig in a wig. While the poor pig attempts to nod off to dreamland, she's accosted by a host of animal critters intent on crowding her bed and keeping her up. What kid doesn't like making animal noises and seeing a horse in a eye mask? Sign them up for this win and wish them good night. Highly recommended.

[Chelsea]

I enjoyed reading this very much, and I believe that children who read this book shall too! This book had wonderful illustrations and a captivating, rhythmic story line. This combination made the book very entertaining and will almost guarantee that the reader will want to laugh out loud. I could also see this being read aloud at a story time, as this book has the ability to be interactive; all of the children could have the chance to test out their animal voices!

[Maggie Mattmiller]

Grabbed this one because I was hoping it would have a story/message I could shift and apply to school/classroom behaviors. This one is definitely a bedtime story though. It's a cute bedtime story for sure, with cute pictures. I can see young ones enjoying this one at bedtime.

[Janet]

A Pig in a Wig Series Book: Noises abound as the main character, a Pig in a Wig, is surrounded by the animals in the barn as she tried to sleep.
Age: 1+
Skill: Phonological Awareness (Animals noises promote language play. Rhymes throughout the story.)

[Janet]

This is the first "Pig in a Wig" book I have read and it is a fun read with all of the animal sounds and the dilemma of getting to sleep. Looking forward to reading the other two "Pig in a Wig" books.

[Marcie]

I'm sure kids and teachers will love this, but I personally was bugged because for me Hush and Shush don't rhyme. However I may just have always pronounced it wrong. Maybe they do with a Texas accent. I think I should ask Chris Barton.

[Kelly]

my reason is totally irrational for rating this book so low but it just really bothered me all the animals slept in a barn besides the pig.