PIGS ON THE BALL

In another entry in Axelrod’s math-concepts series (Pigs in the Pantry, 1997, etc.) Mr. and Mrs. Pig and their piglets visit a miniature golf course for Mr. Pig’s birthday, and get a crash course in simple geometry. The pigs, as always, are a jolly bunch, ever-ready to exploit the comic possibilities. In this story, Mr. Pig plays the fall guy: Even his new lucky shirt can’t save him from putting his ball out of bounds, into the water, or beneath the bushes. Of course, the other three pigs work the greens like Sam Snead, all the while offering Mr. Pig advice, much of it laced with geometry. Some of the dialogue becomes stilted (“Dad, this one is so easy. Just gently putt to the center of any of the equal sides, and the ball will land in the cup”), but the story still prattles along in a merry vein, with its subtext of lines and curves, parallels and semi- circles. (There is a quiz at the end.) McGinley-Nally shows pigs running happily amok, flashing wit, knowledge, and the electric palette of a single-minded crusade against math anxiety. (Picture book. 4-9)