Little Oink [Hardcover]

Amy Krouse Rosenthal (Author), Jen Corace (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009 | Grade Level: P and up

From the creators of Little Pea and Little Hoot comes this tidy tale of a decidedly different pig. Little Oink is a neat little fellow. Clean clean clean that's all he wants to do. But Mama and Papa won't have it! They say in order to be a proper pig he has to learn to make a proper mess. "Don't come out until your room is a pigsty " says Papa Pig. "I won't have any child of mine going out looking so neat and clean. It's just not acceptable " says Mama Pig. Readers who hate to clean up will love this humorous twist on a universal dilemma.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2—Fans of Little Pea (2005) and Little Hoot (2008, both Chronicle) will enjoy this team's latest creative effort. Little Oink likes to dig with his friends and go to school but he does not like disorder. Papa Pig tells him, "If you want to grow up to be a respectable pig, you must learn how to make a proper mess." So, before he can play he has to unmake his bed, unfold his clothes, put on a stained shirt, and throw his toys out of their bin. Once he has messed up enough, he can play his favorite game—house—where he sweeps, scours, and scrubs up. Delightful wordplay turns this classic childhood argument upside down while Corace's simply detailed ink and watercolor drawings are full of expression, standing out on a clean white background. Young readers will relate to Little Oink's frustrations as they find humor in this classic twist on everyday situations, and many will share variations of his promise to himself: "When I grow up, I'm going to let my kids clean up their rooms as much as they want."—Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY
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About the Author

Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a Chicago-based writer. She is the author of Little Pea, Little Hoot, Duck! Rabbit!, and several other books for children and adults.

Jen Corace graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. She is the illustrator of Little Pea and Little Hoot. A New Jersey native, she now lives in Seattle.

Take a Look Inside Little Oink
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 36 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811866556
• ISBN-13: 978-0811866552
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,541 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Pigs

More About the Author

Amy Krouse Rosenthal is a person who likes to make things.

Some things she likes to make:
Children's books.
Grown-up books.
Short films.
Salads.
Connections with the universe.
Something out of nothing.
Wishes.

According to The New York Times, Amy's award-winning children's books "radiate fun the way tulips radiate spring: they are elegant and spirit-lifting." Her 16 books for children include LITTLE PEA, SPOON, THE WONDER BOOK, COOKIES: BITE-SIZE LIFE LESSONS, AND DUCK!RABBIT!.

As for her adult work, Amazon named ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AN ORDINARY LIFE one of the top 10 memoirs of the decade.

A long-time contributor to NPR, she is currently the host and creator of Mission Amy K R.com produced by Chicago Public Radio.

Her short films include 17 Things I Made, ATM Always Trust Magic, The Kindness Thought Bubble, The Money Tree, Chip the Monk and the interactive, ongoing film project The Beckoning of Lovely (a feature-length film is scheduled for hopeful release on 11/11/11).

Amy lives IRL with her family in Chicago and online at whoisamy.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review from www.firrkids.com, May 24, 2009

By 

www.firrkids.com - See all my reviews

This review is from: Little Oink (Hardcover)

Little Oink is a bit different than most other pigs his age. While he enjoys playing with his pig pals, he also manages to find a way to remain neat and virtually stain free. He loves digging for those sooey-t truffles, but prefers wielding a trowel to soiling his snout. Little Oink happily partakes from the community trough in the mess hall - he's the only piglet with utensils and a checkered napkin.

Little Oink's parents insist that he must learn to make a proper mess so that he can grow up to be a respectable pig. Each night he is forced to don grubby clothes and make a proper mess of his room. Little Oink mumbles and grumbles, but he dutifully unmakes his bed and unfolds his clothes. He reluctantly drags in fresh mud and tosses toys willy-nilly from his toybox. Only after a proper mess has been made will his parents allow him to run off to play his favorite game.

Definitely it is the obvious humorous twist that will have children laughing uproariously. The very idea that adults would make a kid dirty up his room put huge smiles on the face of every child in our reading group. Great concept, but it is the many clever details lurking in the background that make this book so terribly clever. Jen Corace takes such care with her illustrations, working to make each one just so.

Overall, extremely well done and a pleasure to read. As Little Pea has earned a place of honor on our bookshelf, so will Little Oink. I'm always thrilled to find picture books that I enjoy as much as my children. This is a series of books that I could read over and over again - and we certainly will.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mom of 2, April 4, 2009

By 

M. Jackson (Trumbull CT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Little Oink (Hardcover)

Great reverse psychology....very clever. Just like the other books by this author..all are a must have in a child's library.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Little Disappointed, February 20, 2010

By 

C. Rice - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Little Oink (Hardcover)

After reading many great reviews for this book, I decided to purchase Little Oink, as well as Little Pea and Little Hoot. The concept of these books is really clever...the idea of the pig (or the owl/pea in the other two books by this author) doing the opposite of what most animals, or children, would want to do. However, both my 5 year old and myself found all three books to be a little boring; not nearly as cute as the reviews stated. I also found them to be rather anti-climatic: the pig messes up his room when his parents tell him to, even though he doesn't want to, and then they live happily ever after. I don't know, maybe I missed something, but I returned all three books for a refund. Like I said, the concept is very cute, but I don't think that carried over into the writing.