Eat, Cried Little Pig

By Jonathan London

Little Pig loves food. He loves to squish it and squash it and wear it in his hair. He slurps it and slops it and gets it everywhere. Toddlers and their tolerant parents will relate to the decadent delight Little Pig takes in eating. The spirited rhyming text and impish illustrations make this book perfect for read-aloud sharing. Illustrated by Delphine Durand.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525469060
• ISBN13: 9780525469063
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.69 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.4" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 2 to 6 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 1

Customer Reviews

A good laugh

When I first read the book I was a little lukewarm toward it, but my 2 1/2 year old grandson absolutely loves it. And the more I read it to him, the more I enjoy it too. He will ask for this several nights in a row and wants it read 3 times before he falls asleep. He laughs as though it is the first time he has heard it.

Pleasure to read for all ages

I checked this out from the library and then had to buy it. The rhymes are rhythmic and hysterical, the characters are perfectly portrayed, and the illustrations had me searching for more books like it. So fun. My 2-year-old now runs around saying, "EAT!"

Piggyback Onto This Book!

His first word is "Eat!" and little pig follows the dictates of his appetite to hilarious ends in this is wildly funny and superbly structured book. Author Jonathan London's slightly subversive humor, funny rhymes, and surprise denouement make a reading feast out of a typical recipe for a kids' book: Take one messy animal (or child, depending on taste), combine with lots of food, and watch the chaos. Instead, London's original variation surprised me: When the text read, "and little Pig ate. He ate OFF his plate," I expected a rather pedestrian book focusing on prepositions. Turn the page, though, and it continues: "and he ate ON his plate" accompanied by a drawing of the big-nosed cutie-pig sitting on a plate and eating eggs and a banana. The unusual illustrations by Delphine Durand add greatly to the book's appeal; there's a simple innocence, and a 1940's-1950's aesthetic that recalls Chris Van Dusen's excellent "Mr. Magee" books. She adds funny touches that magnify London's rhymes: A whole mouthful of long spaghetti slurped into Pig's cheek-stuffed mouth, and an explosion of food around the kitchen (almost resembling a Jackson Pollack painting) sets the background for the text: Food in his hair. Food in the air. Food on the ceiling and food EVERYWHERE! It slid down the walls And flew from the fan. It was rolled into balls And spilled from the pan. Little Piggy is good-natured and mostly innocent, like a porcine version of Spongebob, and he is as focused on food as Squarepants is on making hamburgers. However, little Pig seems to have a faster learning curve than the sponge, for when he shouts his second word ever, "Neat," he neatly devours his dessert while in bed. Pigs will be pigs, however: "Sweet!" he said ("Sweet was his third word) and threw his toys instead." This book (printed on quality paper, by the way) would make an excellent gift for older infants and for toddlers, or for slight older kids who are beginning to read. It's genuinely clever, and the writing and illustrations are original and imaginative.