PIGS TO THE RESCUE

Chickens aren’t the only helpful livestock on the Greenstalk family farm (Chickens to the Rescue, 2006). When Farmer Greenstalk’s tractor breaks down, it’s “Pigs to the rescue!” “Um, thank you, I think,” says Farmer Greenstalk, as he looks at the giant hole the pigs have dug. Mrs. Greenstalk’s hose springs a leak while she’s watering her flowers. Jeffrey’s kite gets stuck in a tree. Caleb the rooster gets a sore throat. Though they have the best of intentions, the pigs aren’t as successful at providing solutions as were the farm fowl: The fields and the flowers get trampled, the kite ends up in pieces and little could be more annoying than having a herd of pigs instead of an alarm clock! Himmelman’s second visit to the farm is just as frenetically fun as the first. The swine saviors swing into action and seem oblivious to the disasters they leave in their porky wake. There’s plenty of detail in the watercolor cartoon illustrations for lap sitters to giggle over, leavened with a good dose of slapstick for the crowds. (Picture book. 2-7)