cover image This Little Piggy

This Little Piggy

Tim Harrington. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-221808-7

This classic nursery rhyme all but demands counting and wiggling a little one’s toes, but with only five piggies mentioned, what about the other foot? Debut author/illustrator Harrington handily solves that problem, whipping up new adventures for piggies six through 10: “This little piggy dug dancing,” he writes, as a smiling disembodied toe shakes it on the dance floor, “And this little piggy flew planes. This little piggy sold hot dogs. This little piggy loved paints.” The last little piggy has it best, with an intergalactic voyage that involves building a spaceship, meeting aliens, playing gravity tag, and riding solar slides—“Wee! Wee! Wee! All the way down!” Of course, all this “fun stuff” makes the “market-visiting, roast beef–enjoying” piggies jealous, so Harrington supplies new escapades for them, too, as well as a fourth go-around that helps the piggies get ready for bed. Harrington stays true to the cadence of the original, and his crisp, digitally drafted toes—lightly personified with smiling faces (well, toenails) and various accessories—embody the story’s off-kilter sense of humor. Ages 4–8. Agent: Andy McNicol, William Morris Endeavor. (May)