Pig Surprise

by Ute Krause

Despite Herman's attempt to be a well-behaved pig, his owner Nina must recognize the fact that he will be happier living outdoors with other pigs.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 1989

About the author

Ute Krause, aufgewachsen in der Türkei, in Nigeria, auf Zypern und in Indien, verbrachte viele Jahre in den USA und lebt derzeit mit ihrer Familie in Berlin. Sie begann ein Studium der Visuellen Kommunikation in Berlin und wechselte dann als Fulbright-Stipen­diatin nach New York und schließlich an die Münchener Filmhochschule. Zu ihren vielseitigen Arbeiten gehören Kurz- und Dokumentarfilme, Cartoons für den »Stern« und Drehbücher. Seit 1985 hat sie 16 Bilderbücher veröffentlicht, bislang vier Kinderromane geschrie­ben und über 400 Bilder- und Kinderbücher illustriert. Ihre Bücher wurden weltweit in viele Sprachen übersetzt und fürs Fernsehen verfilmt. Ihre Arbeit wurde vielfach ausgezeichnet.

Reviews

[Kirsty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such a sweet story about a little girl, Nina, who asks her aunt for a guinea pig for her birthday but gets a huge 'genuine' pig instead! The pig, Herman, becomes quite domesticated, wearing a suit, eating with a knife and folk, and going to school with Nina. Until one day when he sees some other pigs enjoying swimming in a muddy puddle. Herman then gets really sad and wants to go and live with his fellow pigs. Nina loves Herman, so takes him back to the pond, promising to visit him lots.

The illustrations really add to the story, so they would be great to discuss with children to show them the importance of reading both words and pictures to understand a story. For example, Krause tells us that Nina and Herman become best friends and do everything together, but the reader has to look at the illustrations to know what type of things they do together. Additionally, applying Doonan's book codes to the illustrations would be very interesting, as their format varies greatly between pages.

I would read this to KS1 children in free time and have it in the book corner.

[Christine Levinge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a really cute and sweet story about a girl and a pet pig that her grandma sends her for her birthday. After Herman is trained to behave properly in the house, he starts to miss being outside with other pigs. It is so touching when the girl realizes that although she loves Herman and wants to keep him around, that she needs to let him go so he can be happy.

[The Brothers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute story how Nina's hard of hearing aunt gives her a genuine pig instead of a guinea pig for her birthday.

Fun illustrations.