Pigs Ahoy!

Pigs Ahoy!

From BooklistAges 4^-8. Kids think pigs are funny, something McPhail has been capitalizing on since his wonderful character Pig Pig was born. Pig Pig's mischievous spirit is many times multiplied in this zesty follow-up to Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore (1993) that's set on a sparkling cruise ship. The exuberant rhyming text is delivered with such gusto and goofiness that children will be hard-pressed not to enjoy themselves as they follow an unsuspecting vacationer heading out on a cruise ship: "I look for cabin number nine. / To my surprise, it's filled with swine. / Some are sitting on a trunk; / The rest are piled up on a bunk" (there's even one sitting on a toilet reading a book). Dark backgrounds make the rainbow of colors McPhail uses in his illustrations sparkle as the artwork gleefully depicts the raucous goings-on--from events in the crowded cabin to the dreadful table manners that are the porkers' eventual undoing. But even the obstreperous pigs' consignment to a drifting lifeboat isn't the end: there's a marvelous surprise yet to come in this joyous, very funny story, with a shining cast of mischief makers destined for a special place in children's hearts. Stephanie ZvirinThe impertinent pigs of Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore! stow away on an ocean liner and wreak havoc all over the ship, as they paint stripes on the boiler room pipes and ruin a formal dinner.From Publishers WeeklyDecked out in a Hawaiian shirt as he embarks for a cruise, the narrator of this ship-shape comedy is mighty surprised when he finds his cabin inhabited by a pajama-clad crew of pigs. And things get worse. Climbing into bed, the vacationer discovers that he's sharing a bunk: "Fred's asleep and will not budge./ His face is smeared with chocolate fudge./ All night long, I hear him wheeze./ He hogs the blankets while I freeze." McPhail's (Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore!) witty rhyming couplets and energetic, at times hilarious art chronicle the madcap capers of the mischievous swine, whose antics finally get them thrown off the ship. Now there's too much peace and quiet for the roommate-less fellow?until he arrives home. Repeat browsing through these pages is recommended, as it's impossible to absorb every comic visual detail the first time around. One scene?the porkers pigging out at the disgusted Captain's table?is especially riotous. Ages 3-7.Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.From School Library JournalGrade 1-2?An ocean cruise begins peacefully but doesn't stay that way for long in this wild followup to Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore (Dutton, 1993). For one restless night, the adult narrator shares his stateroom with a gang of cheery, hyperactive porkers, who then move out on deck, wreak various sorts of havoc, and turn the following night's dinner into a melee. McPhail casts the text as doggerel (piggerel?), arranging events to serve the rhyme rather than the other way around: "In the boiler room below/(Where pigs are not supposed to go),/They're down there pounding on the pipes/And painting pink and purple stripes." The humor takes a broad turn when the swine rip the "sultry singer's" gown, exposing her panties for all to see; so annoyed is the Captain that he has the miscreants pitched into a rowboat (they reappear safely at the end). The author's vigorous brushwork; energetic lines; and expressive, clearly drawn faces and postures effectively capture the chaos, but this second book stretches the joke a bit thin.?John Peters, New York Public LibraryCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.About the AuthorDavid McPhail is the acclaimed author of many popular books for children, including Fix-It; Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore!; and Pigs Ahoy! (all Dutton and Puffin). He is also the illustrator of Jan Waldron's Angel Pig and the Hidden Christmas and John Pig's Halloween (both Dutton). He lives in Newburyport, Massachusetts.