Details
Synopsis
In this picture-book version of the popular nursery rhyme, an ordinary trip to the market becomes a disaster when a woman's groceries develop minds of their own. Color illustrations accompany the rhyming text., Starting with the nursery rhyme about buying a fat pig at market, this tale goes on to describe a series of unruly animals that run amok, evading capture and preventing the narrator from cooking lunch.
| Size | | Height: | 11.5 in | | Width: | 10.3 in | | Thickness: | 0.2 in | | Weight: | 16.8 oz |
Publisher's Notes
First Line: "To market, to market to buy a fat pig./Home again, home again./Jiggity jig."
Industry Reviews
In this clever riff on the old nursery rhyme, "To market, to market, to buy a fat pig," a plump matron makes a series of increasingly calamitous purchases of animals at the supermarket. Hungry and cranky after the raucous menagerie turns her house topsy-turvy, the lady (who is dressed in a deliciously kitschy ensemble) wisely decides to make vegetable soup instead. Stevens (Tops & Bottoms) creates collages from mundane-looking b&w photographs of settings and objects by superimposing on them dynamic mixed media portraits of the heroine and her animal retinue. The skillfully wielded visual anarchy explodes off the page. As the catalyst and brunt of the mess, the would-be chef gets a full comic workout (in one illustration, the animals push her to the market as she slumps, dazed and utterly frazzled, in a grocery cart), but the audience also will sense the illustrator's genuine affection for her heroine's indomitable spirit. Miranda's (Night Songs) rhyming text (set in playful typography, with red boldface for emphasis) does an unobtrusive job of pushing the boundaries of the original rhymes, with verses like these: "To market, to market, for one stubborn goat. The duck flew the coop and the goat ate my coat!" But some may find the writer's repeated use of "Uh-oh!" to mark each new calamity cloying (perhaps because it seems an unlikely interjection from such a distinctive-looking heroine). Still, this is one market trip children will wish to take again and again. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)
Lopate
PreS-Gr 3 What begins with the traditional serene nursery rhyme turns into a slapstick excursion filled with mishap and mayhem. A "fat pig" is not enough for this ambitious shopper. The elderly woman makes return trips to the market for a hen, trout, lamb, cow, duck, and goat. While she is acquiring more, her earlier purchases are wreaking havoc. Patterned, staccato verses tell the zany tale, but it is Stevens's wonderfully wild illustrations that bring it to life. The conventional home's interior is pictured in flat gray charcoal tones. The woman and her animals are colorful, oversized figures that burst off the pages. The collage technique allows for the contrasting colors and styles that magnify the uncontained boisterous fun of this very imaginative book. Visual format, repetition, and rhyme make this title an ideal choice for sharing aloud. It could also be used as a springboard for writing projects as children start with a familiar rhyme and make it their own. All-in-all, a delightful, albeit raucous, romp. Heide Piehler, Shorewood Public Library, WI
Lopate
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