Oink?

by Margie Palatini, Henry Cole (Illustrator)

Everyone on the farm thinks Thomas and Joseph are sloppy, dim-witted pigs. Thomas and Joseph are content, but the other animals are not. The hens want the pigs to paint their pen, the rabbit wants them to eat healthier food, and the duck wants them to dig a water hole andtake a bath.

Even though the other animals try to show them how it's done, the pigs can't seem to do anything right.Maybe being lazy isn't as dumb as it seems.

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

40 pages, Hardcover

First published March 21, 2006

Reviews

[Miloš]

Reading with my daughter :-)

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up... Palatini is always good for at least a giggle... and a lesson, in this case against interfering busy-bodies. A titch long-winded, and adults will see the ending coming from the beginning, but still good for kidlets.

[Andrew Hancock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute and humorous; however, not exactly character building.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

The other animals on the farm are upset about the look and smell of two pigs pen so they set about to help them fix it up. Do the pigs want it fixed up? Whose really the smartest animal? Long but cute. preschool and up

[Meygan Cox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story but very wordy for a read aloud to littles.

[Taija · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was boring to read aloud. Plus, it's targeted for early years, and there were so many "stupid's" and "dumb's" thrown around that I skipped them... Because trying to teach a three year old not to call people stupid, and then read a book where name calling happens on every page, seems counter productive.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Highlighting the worst of human nature using barnyard animals seems to be a common literary theme, and this book follows suit in an unabashed celebration of weaponized incompetence. The premise is spectacular. An overzealous barnyard HOA wants two pigs to improve their living conditions. The pigs aren't interested. Unfortunately, the silliness in the book is overshadowed by lengthy passages of name-calling, negativity, and exhausting adult rhetoric.

The punchline of this book is when our "stupid, dumb, lazy, sloppy, dirty, clueless, and dim-witted" pigs triumph over their nagging neighbors, who are a stone's throw away from a caricature of a nagging wife. Maybe, the other animals realize, they are not so stupid after all. "Oink," the pigs agree.

[Sabrina Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute, funny story about some pigs who are content the way they are, but the other farm animals don't like the way the pigs live and think they're lazy. They decide that if the pigs did certain things like eat vegetables and be tidier, the pigs will be happier. In the end, the farm animals realized the pigs were always fine the way they were, and they just spent their whole day doing all this work for nothing essentially.

My PreK class really liked this one. They thought it was good and even clapped when I finished reading it.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Two pigs, Thomas and Joseph, were happy and content, but their neighbours - two hens, a duck, and a rabbit - were not. They encouraged the pigs to paint the fence around their pen, pull fresh vegetables to eat, and dig a clean water pond so they wouldn’t stink. What actually happened reminds me of when Huckleberry Finn was whitewashing a fence. Clever pigs! Fabulous illustrations!

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

My child liked the pictures in this book.

This book was about weaponized incompetence? I’ve also never read a children’s book that had the words tramp stamp in it. There was no meaning or lesson to the story. The characters were quite judgmental.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas and Joseph are two pigs who are content to lay around in the mud all day, but the other barnyard animals just can't believe that they're happy.

[Keri Rohr · Rating 2 out of 5]

OINK? Is a modern fantasy book appropriate for grades 3-4. The book had a little bit of humor in it but I was a little bored while reading it.

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read a book with a question mark in the title - so... This was a random pick up. Cute!

[Brenda Lower · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those sneaky pigs....

[Sarah Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was cute, even though pigs are actually clean creatures, I went with it and it's still funny.

[curiouskat_books · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit boring to read and the animals were just over the top rude.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of lazy pigs "Tom Sawyer" the other animals on the farm

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oink? by Margie Palatini, illustrated by Henry Cole follows duck, rabbit and the chickens as they try to trick the pigs into cleaning up their home, but have the tables turned on them.

Cole's illustrations are rendered in watercolor, ink, and colored pencil. One and two pages spreads tell this story. My favorite images are annoyed neighbors, opinions, sad, chickens paint, ruined garden, exhausted, neighbors laugh, chuckle, and last picture.

This tale will please many, with the pigs starting out as being considered dumb in addition to being sloopy, lazy, and dirty. Their self righteous, opinionated, smug, intolerant neighbors decide the pigs must change. In the process, the pigs seem so inept that that the chickens, duck and rabbit end up doing all the improvements to the pigs sty themselves. In the end it seems that the pigs are not dumb and have outsmarted their fellow farm inhabitants.

While I enjoyed this, I don't love it as much as The Web Files. This was just a bit too didactic for me. Others may enjoy the story more than I do. The story could invite discussion as to why some seek to change others., or think their opinions are the right ones. This message just overpowered the humor in the story for me. I do really like the illustrations so this rates 3.5 stars.

For ages 5 to 9, pigs, farm, farm animals, humor, behavior and fans of Margie Palatini and Henry Cole.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joseph and Thomas the pigs lived a happy life style. They were dirty, they were stinky, and they ate slop. Never had they felt like they needed more. One day the two chickens, the rabbit, and the duck came to the pigs hoping to fool them into becoming healthier eaters, cleaner pigs, and to have a nicer pin, little did they know they would be doing all of the work for the so called "dim-witted" pigs. After a day of working to paint the pigs fence, pick healthier food for them and, dig them a water hole the animals came across the realization that unknowingly they had been doing all of the work for the pigs, who proved to be not so dim-witted. It can also teacher readers that society should not determine what makes you happy.

[Ruhama · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the other animals on the farm are fed up with the pigs—they stink, their living quarters are a disgrace and both are a mess. So they decide to outwit the pigs and get them to clean up a bit. The chickens will take care of the fence and building, the rabbit will tend to their diet and the duck will organize a pond-digging. But are these pigs as dumb as they look? Palatini has written a fun story that should work well for any storytime, whether it’s on a lap or in a group. Cole’s pictures are colorful and easy to understand—everyone should be able to catch that the pigs know what they’re doing, and the self-righteousness of the other animals is hilarious.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this outloud to my 3 year old granddaughter she sat and enjoyed the animal characters. She didn't fully understand the 'behind the scene' meaning in the story but still enjoyed it all the same. The two pigs are happy but the farm animals all think they are lazy, unhappy and unpleasant. So they all come together to try and improve their pen and their lives. They try and show them what to do but the pigs doesn't seem to 'get it' so the animals do all the work. In the end the animals realize that the pigs weren't lazy after all... since they had to do all the work and the pigs didn't do anything. Their pen got fixed up by the others.

[Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a huge hit with my daughter though I can't quite put my finger on the reason why. Something struck her as hyterical about barnyard animals having a litany of complaints about Thomas and Joseph, and a variety of solutions to at first impose upon them and then assume responsibility for themselves. Yet the pigs either don't understand, don't care, are too lazy lazy, or perhaps they're too clever to be bothered. There is no shortage of those who want to fix us for a variety of reasons. But if firmly convinced that you aren't broken, who can possibly convince you otherwise.

[Steven R. McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never encountered this author or the illustrator previously; it is a pity as we enjoyed this book immensely. This book is witty, fun and really funny. This is the story of Thomas and Joseph, two pigs. The other animals on the farm are not happy with them. They smell, eat swill and stink. The hens, the rabbit and the duck want to help them be happy. But things are not always as they appear. The story is great fun and the illustrations are full of small details children pick out.

Read the review on my blog Book Reviews and More.

[Kip · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate to rail on a kids' book, but this was awful. Several lines are redundant, but not in a poetic way, so you keep wondering whether you've skipped a page. The pigs honestly don't care whether their sty gets cleaned, so it's not a traditional trickster tale where some clever being gets others to work for him -- the pigs just sit throughout the book. One reading and back to the library with this one.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this wasn't my favorite Palatini book, it is still good. You can use it when teaching varied sentence length, rule of three, one word sentences, and onomatopoeia. They're all in there. Additionally, there's a lesson to be learned in there that could be un to pick out with students. Overall, this is a fun book. Upon closer inspection, this is a book with a lot to offer if you are a close reader.

[Paige Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was very simple and cute. It reminded me of a twisted version of the Little Red Hen. This is a story that truly teaches others to not judge their neighbors. I liked it because it shows that everyone has their own way of living and how they see themselves. I think this would be a great book to read to kindergarteners or first graders as a social lesson on how to treat others. The story line is easy to follow for young readers and the text is big an bold.

[The Brothers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thomas and Joseph are thought to be lazy, stupid pigs by the hens, rabbit, and goose that share the barnyard with them. Each of the other animals has a "pet peeve" about the pigs and try to get the pigs to remedy it. The pigs know the wisdom in the philosophy of "keep those expectations low." You come away from reading the book realizing the pigs are in fact quite clever.

Great illustrations my Henry Cole of the Warthogs in the Kitchen fame.

[Toree Howe · Rating 4 out of 5]

•The characters in this book are farm animals that try to get the lazy pigs to do things to clean up their “pig sty,” they are an embarrassment to the barn yard.
•This is great to read to pre-school or primary students. The pigs only say oink throughout the whole book, but it is how they say it that infers their feelings.
•I love how they trick the other animals to do all the work.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny book - one that I enjoyed reading to my children. Couple of lessons - the pigs aren't as dumb as they look, but also, who are we to say what things should make others happy and content. Made me stop and think about me imposing my set of values on others - thinking about what they should/shouldn't be doing.

[Inhabiting Books]

A rabbit, duck, and two hens think their neighbors Thomas and Joseph, two contented pigs, need to improve their pigsty, their diet, and their cleanliness -or lack thereof. In their zeal to change the two contented pigs, the discontented neighbors end up doing all the work themselves, only to realize how foolish they have been.