Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch

by Mary Peterson, Jennifer Rofé

While mama pigs naps peacefully among the pumlins, her two mischievous piggies peek, sneak, chase and race.
over the beans, behind the sheep, and through the geese.
Uh-oh! Are they headed for the big bull's pen?

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Animals, Fiction, Halloween, Mathematics

28 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Miranda Reads · Rating 2 out of 5]

Piggies in the pumpkin patch peek and sneak, under crinkly, clean sheets, over growing, green beans...

We follow two mischievous piggies as they run past a bunch of different things (tabby cats, sheep, tire tracks, etc), basically, past all the things you can find on a farm.

They end up in a pumpkin patch and are quite content.

So, I freaking loved the title and the cover illustration but I thought there'd be more plot to this one and a stronger fall-theme (but this one was more farm-themed than fall-themed).

I was really hoping for a high energy adventure but the actual book felt much less exciting - I feel like there needed to be more plot to this one.

At the end of the day, it's definitely cute but needed more oomph to the story.

[Erin Reilly-Sanders · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, but not spectacular. The text is fun and alliterative, the short length making it great for the youngest audiences. A lot of the story and action is contained in the pictures so that they work well with the text, especially with the fun round shapes which are echoed across the page. However, there's not quite enough artistry to really make the book shine. The endpapers that map the piggies's journey add a little depth to the book and might provide enough meat for somewhat older children to pour over although I don't know if the story and subject matter would hold their attention.

[Edward Sojuwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch starts out with the oddest dedication page I've read yet: it's in memory of a farm. A farm that is no more. Awww. That said, kids are drawn to a funny story of two piggies running amuck in a mucky farm and thru a mucky pumpkin patch, and they're so CUTE just laying among the pumpkins all smiley faces and having a lotta fun. It's a mere 32 pages, but it's worth every page if one loves to giggle at the antics of misbehaving little oinkers hamming it up! All sweet, no sour!!!
Four stars
Piggies rule the patch!!!

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

The piggies take a madcap dash around the farm. The text emphasizes prepositions and relational words with support from the illustrations. The text did feel like a few long run-on sentences that have some internal rhymes and alliteration, but didn't feel like they had a natural rhythm for reading aloud and turning pages. I also just noticed that the flap copy talks about mama pig napping, which I didn't catch since she's referenced only in the illustration on the title page and on the last page.

[Mister David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two pigs race through the farm, past all kinds of animals and scenes, and finally end up asleep in the pumpkin patch. There are only a few words on each page and these are large and bold and placed in a variety of arrangements. Many of the words rhyme, or sound alike in a variety of different ways. Although there is no meter to the text, the alliteration and assonance make the read-aloud sound juicy.

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

While incredibly simple, this romping text-and-picture combination is a fascinating study in the making of a picture book. For the target reader, the light, playful text will be a fun repeat-read. The illustrated piggy antics will have little ones wiggling, snorting, and cavorting along with the main characters. Irresistible maps on the endpapers are an invitation to experience the book all over again.

[Eileen Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this book. It is so cute all children will love it. It also teaches children about positional words such as over, under, between. The pictures are adorable. This is sure to be a favorite book among children. Great to read when teaching about farm animals.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple rhyming text and fun illustrations about a couple pigs who wander and get into a little trouble while Mom naps. A good toddler read aloud with lots of alliterative text and a simple, relatable story.

[Esmeralda Barboza]

I think this is great book for young students. Piggies in the Pumpkin Patch is a cute rhyming story about pigs running around a farm. The illustrations are really captivating so I know students will enjoy them. This book would go well with lessons to teach positional words.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute fall/Halloween season book that is also great for talking about prepositions. The piggies have cute little faces and there isn't too much text, so great for very little kiddos. Very atmospheric for the season, too.

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love pigs 🐷
Cute little book.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

While mama pig is sleeping in the pumpkin patch her two piglets have fun getting into mischief - until they go into the big bull's pen! Less than 100 well chosen words; bright illustrations.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has lots of fall and farm ambiance with the garden patches they roam through and other animals they see, and it has a simple, decent rhythm that works well at story time, but it's not silly enough to be particularly memorable.

[Valencia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable!

[kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

good read aloud, cute!

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute fall story. Lots of different verbs and prepositions here.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and cute

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and fun.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Piggies take a jaunt around the farm and end up in the pumpkin patch.

[Miss Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Piggies take a jaunt around the farm and end up in the pumpkin patch.

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Lame little story.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure what to say about this book other than it’s overly simplistic, boring rather.

[Allie Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has the cutest illustrations! This is a great book to read if you are trying to teach children spatial relation. The book includes words such as "over" "behind" and "between.

[Samantha Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great short read for a toddler storytime.

[Mrs Heet -Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

I originally picked this book up thinking it might be good for a pumpkin storytime, but after reading it I think it would be better suited for a farm theme instead.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toddler and preschool

[Charity Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the action in this book and the various animals which the children loved finding and pointing out during storytime. It made a nice read aloud for toddler storytime.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nice drawings

[Darshana Khiani · Rating 5 out of 5]

A simple, short jam-packed story with action words like sneak, peek, crash, dash and a slew of prepositions. But it is not boring, no way, these little piggies are off on a chase which leads them into trouble.

This concept book has the perfect combination of story and education value. Kids will be engaged with the story of the chase wondering where the piggies will end up next, while adults will appreciate the vocabulary building aspects of the book. The text is short and descriptive; one of those books where each word is pitch-perfect.

The illustrations are colorful and the animals have a cute roundness to them. The layout of the text was creatively interspersed within the images. For example the text “between teasing tabby cats” splits the group of animals in half, or the text “along winding wagon tracks” is actually printed out along the curve of the wagon tracks. The endpapers contain a map of the piggies chase around the farm.

This book is sure to delight young readers and can be used for storytime or in classrooms to teach prepositions.

Click here for the original review and activity ideas at Flowering Minds.

[Rita Crayon Huang · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love giving this book out because all of my friends' children have been gloriously photo-documented romping through pumpkin patches every year (as I have witnessed via Facebook), and I want to reinforce those memories. Also: This book is fantastic! It has the most high-energy, charming words and pictures ever! D--who reads picture books today exactly the way he would have as a much younger D (i.e. preoccupied, needing to be won over)--got caught up in the endpapers right away, which map out the story exactly. He had to give this book much respect. That carries a lot of weight with me.

I like pairing this book with Trucks Roll, by George Ella Lyon, illustrated by Craig Frazier. Something about the younger age group, and the colors--the bright blue & red, with the orange??--make for a really fun package. Also: I like giving out Trucks Roll whenever possible, to everyone whom I suspect doesn't have a copy. So, really, not much reason is needed.