PIG THE WINNER

Sore loser and sore winner is always a losing combination.

“Pig was a pug / and I’m sorry to say, / if he didn’t come first, / it would ruin his day.” And chubby Pig is hard to beat…because if he’s behind, his response is to cheat. And if by some chance he does lose to, say, his long-suffering friend Trevor, he throws a fit until his opponent relents and declares Pig the actual winner. Even if Trevor just wants to play for fun, Pig’s response is “It ain’t fun till I’ve WON!” One night at supper, Pig challenges Trevor to a speed-eating contest and doesn’t bother waiting for the reluctant Trevor to agree. Pig eats so fast that he swallows his food dish. Trevor saves the day with the Heimlich, sending the dish shooting into the air. After it falls and bonks him on the head, Pig learns his lesson…sort of. Australian author/illustrator Blabey brings back his greedy pug Pig for a second American release (there will be four shortly in his native land). It seems Pig has more problems than just greed. The goggle-eyed cartoon illustrations are fun, funny, and appealingly grotesque in their exaggerated goofiness, and they are a good match for the rhyming text.

Pig probably doesn’t have any fans per se (who’d like the nasty little booger?), but his antics make learning good sportsdogship fun.