THE THIRTEENTH PIGLET

Thirteen is a natural problem-solver, which is handy since his mom’s got only 12 teats.

Thirteen is a pink-speckled pig who resembles his siblings save for the patch over one eye and the star-shaped spot on his side. When he comes upon a problem, he puzzles out a solution, because even though he’s small, he believes he can be helpful, as when he rescues a child’s ball from a muddy puddle. But when it comes to his own problem, the solution isn’t so easy. His 12 siblings won’t budge, and his mother snores on despite his plaintive cries. Shedding a few tears makes him feel better, but he can’t get discouraged. A lesson in sharing (or not!) comes from a calf. The rescued ball proves just the distraction he needs to get his mother all to himself. The final wordless page shows all the animals bedded down for the night, a rather forlorn Thirteen left out of the shelter awake. The text is a bit stilted: “Thirteen feels that happiness makes you want to sing. But not yet. Later. Now, he has to fill his tummy.” The green grass and tan and brown of the farmyard background the illustrations of the adorable piglets, and the antics of the chicks and their exasperated mother will make observant kids (and their parents) chuckle. Thirteen’s star helps readers pick him out, though it has a tendency to move around. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Readers will empathize with this pig and hopefully learn to not give up.