Little Oink

by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Jen Corace (Illustrator)

Overview

From the creators of Little Pea and Little Hoot comes this tidy tale of a decidedly different pig. Little Oink is a neat little fellow. Clean, clean, clean, that's all he wants to do. But Mama and Papa won't have it! They say in order to be a proper pig, he has to learn to make a proper mess. "Don't come out until your room is a pigsty," says Papa Pig. "I won't have any child of mine going out looking so neat and clean. It's just not acceptable," says Mama Pig. Readers who hate to clean up will love this humorous twist on a universal dilemma. Plus, this version includes audio and a read-along setting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452121925
Publisher:	Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date:	12/18/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	36
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a Chicago-based writer. She is the author of Little Pea, Little Hoot, Duck! Rabbit!, and several other books for children and adults.
Jen Corace graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. She is the illustrator of Little Pea and Little Hoot. A New Jersey native, she now lives in Seattle.

Editorial Reviews

A neat little pig? That is unheard of in conventional literature, but it is true. Little Oink has the parents most children wish for: ones who do not care how messy they get and even encourage their children to create the filthiest mess they can make. Such disorder is foreign to Little Oink's demeanor and instead he relishes and thrives in tidying up. He even wears gloves while he digs in the dirt with his pig pals, and is the only little pig that uses a knife and fork and wears a bib—for lunch! Just one thing bothered Little Oink: mess up time. He could not go outside to play until his room was properly messed up and he changed into dirty clothes. He un-makes his bed, unfolds his clothes, yet his parents are not pleased until he empties his toy box and his room is a complete pig sty. Once his parents are satisfied that his room is a mess, Little Oink is allowed to go out and play…play house, that is, in his neat as a pin tree house. Colorful images on a stark white background allow the story to be presented in an uncomplicated, neat and simple manner, retaining the emphasis on the contrast of what is considered "normal" pig behavior and the reality of Little Oink. Readers will hopefully attempt to emulate the star of the story, while also encouraging discussion on neatness and potential stereotypes. An enjoyable slant on pigs from the creators of "Little Pea" and "Little Hoot." Reviewer: Elizabeth Young

Children's Literature - Elizabeth Young

PreS-Gr 2—Fans of Little Pea (2005) and Little Hoot (2008, both Chronicle) will enjoy this team's latest creative effort. Little Oink likes to dig with his friends and go to school but he does not like disorder. Papa Pig tells him, "If you want to grow up to be a respectable pig, you must learn how to make a proper mess." So, before he can play he has to unmake his bed, unfold his clothes, put on a stained shirt, and throw his toys out of their bin. Once he has messed up enough, he can play his favorite game—house—where he sweeps, scours, and scrubs up. Delightful wordplay turns this classic childhood argument upside down while Corace's simply detailed ink and watercolor drawings are full of expression, standing out on a clean white background. Young readers will relate to Little Oink's frustrations as they find humor in this classic twist on everyday situations, and many will share variations of his promise to himself: "When I grow up, I'm going to let my kids clean up their rooms as much as they want."—Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

In the tradition of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie et seq., here's a third iteration of the conceit that buoyed Little Pea (2005) and Little Hoot (2008). This time it's pigs: Being compulsively neat, Little Oink is understandably annoyed by his parents' insistence that he root around in mud and throw his clothes and toys on the floor. "When I grow up, I'm going to let my kids clean up their rooms as much as they want," he fumes. Inventive details in Corace's minimalist scenes of a young porker feeding daintily from a trough at school or sullenly counting each toy that he drops compensate for the many similarities with the previous versions and complement Rosenthal's playful narrative. Once Little Oink has made his room a proper pigpen he's freed to go out and "play" (i.e., sweep and scour his preternaturally tidy tree house), and the whole family lives "hap-pig-ly ever after." Young children whose literary tastes run to "more of the same, please," will be delighted. (Picture book. 5-7)

Kirkus Reviews