How Tickles Saved Pickles: A True Story

In an uplifting underdog (underpig?) story, piglet Pickles is the last of his siblings to be adopted. After finding a forever home, Pickles makes dog friends and even learns how to paint and surf—moments captured in bright, endearing photographs. But when the black-and-white pig eats “something I shouldn’t have eaten” (rat poison, according to the back matter), he requires a blood transfusion. Enter Tickles: a 650 lb. hog whose blood donation saves Pickles’s life. Pickles wishes for a home for Tickles as well (if she were to stay, “She wouldn’t fit in my bathtub. She wouldn’t fit at our table”). Finally, Pickles explains, his parents find a friendly farm for Tickles to live—and where Pickles (as well as his new brother, a French bulldog puppy named Dill) can visit anytime. Johnson’s narrative is uncomplicated and earnest; animal lovers will be particularly touched by Pickles’s relationships with other animal friends. Ages 4–8.[em] (Oct.) [/em]