THE PIG, THE ELEPHANT, AND THE WISE-CRACKING BIRD

It’s all in the interpretation.

On Friday afternoon, Ogden Oink remembers that his mother’s birthday is on Monday; he has to quickly earn money for a gift. Noticing a “Help Wanted” sign at a detective agency, the young pig applies for the job and is hired immediately. His mission: find a missing baby zoo elephant. He’s given a set of “detective rules”: “Pinch pennies.” “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” “Stay ahead of the game.” “Don’t spill the beans.” “Don’t get cold feet.” “Put on your thinking cap.” But Ogden doesn’t understand idiomatic expressions. Taking these rules literally, he empties his bank for pennies to pinch, places eggs in separate baskets, ties a checker board to his ankle, and so on. Ogden initially fails at locating the pachyderm. Meanwhile, a smart-alecky bird offers additional figurative expressions on every page; these are generally intended as comments on the proceedings. Keen-eyed readers will observe the elephant surreptitiously hiding in some illustrations as Ogden goes about his unsuccessful detecting. This is a thin, almost plotless story, its main purpose being a lesson in idioms. Slight humor arises from readers’ understanding the difference between Ogden’s literal interpretations and the expressions themselves. Kids who don’t comprehend the idiomatic language won’t get the point, but a glossary explains it. The loosely drawn, colorful, lively line illustrations, depicting an all-animal cast, look amateurish. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An attempt at witty wordplay that doesn’t quite come together.