Details
Synopsis
Poppleton the pig makes a friend, reads a library book about adventure, and helps a sick friend get better., Poppleton the pig moves to a new town, where he promptly sets out to make friends with his neighbors. This is the first entry in the beginning reader series that features the personable Poppleton. Color illustrations accompany the text.
| Size | | Length: | 48 pages | | Height: | 8.5 in | | Width: | 6.3 in | | Thickness: | 0.2 in | | Weight: | 4.0 oz |
Industry Reviews
City pig Poppleton adjusts to small-town life in this understated and roundly appealing chapter book. In "Neighbors," the polite Poppleton tries to think up a polite way to say "no thanks" to Cherry Sue, a friendly llama who invites him to breakfast, lunch and dinner every single day. When his aggravation expresses itself as rudeness, Cherry Sue admits that she didn't know how to stop issuing invitations without hurting Poppleton's feelings, and the two become best friends. The second vignette, "The Library," details Poppleton's reading ritual, which demands solitude. Finally, "The Pill" introduces Fillmore, a sick goat who refuses to take his pill unless Poppleton hides it in a cake, whereupon the stubborn goat eats all the other slices until he reaches the one with the medicine: " `I can't eat that one,' he said. `It has a pill.' " As in Rylant's other series for beginning readers (Henry and Mudge; Mr. Potter and Tabby), her concise sentences mimic the characters' good manners and wryly point up the failures of etiquette. Teague contributes fetching watercolor-and-pencil images of the pudgy pig, slender llama and dignified goat; the compositions are airier and the palette lighter than in his Pigsty or The Secret Shortcut. The end pages offer a satisfying bird's-eye view of the quaint, cozy neighborhood, with all three characters strolling the sidewalks. Ages 4-7. (Mar.)
Lopate
PreS-Gr 2 Poppleton, a most interesting pig, lives in a charming house in the country in this three-chapter beginning reader. In the first chapter, instead of submitting indefinitely to an overly friendly neighbor's ministrations, he finally tells her, though not without first making a muddle of it, that he needs time to himself. In the second, he shows how much he values reading, for not even the temptations of a lovely afternoon tea or an exciting parade stand in the way of his Monday library day. The final story reveals Poppleton's sense of humor as he joins a sick friend in bed when it becomes clear that there is a very palatable way to take pills. With his aerial view on the endpapers, Teague ushers readers into the pig's small country town. His large, acrylic cartoons introduce many humorous touches: a chicken on rollerblades; a framed picture of Poppleton's sociable neighbor, waving, of course; a picture of a can on the wall in a goat friend's house. The characters' facial expressions and body language greatly enhance the text. Rylant titles this Book One. Readers will be happy to know there are other Poppleton adventures in the wings. Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community-Technical College, CT
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