Pete & Pickles [Hardcover]

Berkeley Breathed (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: October 16, 2008 | Age Range: 3 - 5 years | Lexile Measure: 620L (What's this?)

Pete is a perfectly predictable, practical, uncomplicated pig. At least, he was . . . before a runaway circus elephant named Pickles stampeded into his life, needing a friend. Pickles is larger than life and overflowing with imagination. She takes Pete swandiving off Niagara Falls. (Sort of.) And sledding down the Matterhorn. (Sort of.) Pete goes along for the wild ride and actually begins to enjoy himself . . . until Pickles goes too far. And Pete tells her she must leave.

Yet sometimes the simple life isn?t all it?s cracked up to be.

Pulitzer Prize?winning cartoonist Berkeley Breathed offers two new irresistible characters and a heartfelt, hilarious look at the rarity of true friendship.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2–4—Pete is a predictable and practical pig. One stormy night, his world is turned upside down when he encounters Pickles, an elephant on the lam from the circus, in his room. Pickles is anything but predictable, yet Pete finds himself drawn to her, and the two become unlikely friends. The relationship hits a snag when Pickles treads too far, and Pete makes a decision that ends up endangering both of their lives. This heartwarming tale is packed with adventure, imagination, and the all-important message of accepting differences. The illustrations alternate from naturalistic renderings of fantastical scenarios to flat compositions reminiscent of traditional comic strips. In the former, Pete and Pickles seem to pop off the page in the lush landscapes, and it is in these pages that the story soars. Less-discerning readers may miss plot points expressed in the drawings but not in the text. Great for sharing one-on-one or for reading aloud.—Beth Cuddy, Seward Elementary School, Auburn, NY
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Review

Breathed achieves a dreamy intensity, a sculptural heft that make these images his most evocative and expansive to date. --Publishers Weekly, starred review

Both adventures and illustrations flirt with the surreal...a comically silly, warmly affirmative package. --Kirkus Reviews

This heartwarming tale is packed with adventure, imagination, and the all-important message of accepting differences. --School Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 3 - 5 years
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Philomel (October 16, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399250824
• ISBN-13: 978-0399250828
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #88,559 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #57 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Elephants
  • #91 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Pigs

More About the Author

Berkeley Breathed lives and works in Santa Barbara, California and is the proud owner of a gentle pit bull named Ridley, a deaf dachshund named Milly, and a refugee mutt from the Puerto Rican streets named Pilar--splendidly flawed dogs, every one.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Enter the World of Berkeley Breathed October 24, 2008

By S. Files

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a fan of Breathed's work since the beginning of the Bloom County comic strip, I found humor, comfort, joy, and hope in his writing and illustration. Breathed's humor is founded in the best of our natures, not the worst of it, and you find ample evidence for it in the many cartoon universes he created to reflect it. "Pete and Pickles" is another such world. I am not sure how Berkeley Breathed manages such complex ideas with such grace and simplicity, but I am glad he does. Buy this book for you, and then share it with your favorite child. You will not regret buying this well-written, expertly crafted and illustrated, book. I read a copy yesterday, and it is in my shopping cart now. I pause only to write this review. Buy this book.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Berkeley Breathed delights yet again October 30, 2008

By K. Strommen

Format:Hardcover

I buy Breathed's children's books for myself and *consent* to share them with my 6yr. old niece. They are by far my very favorite children's books, and you can imagine my delight when i saw Pete & Pickles was released. It is exquisitely written and illustrated. It is whimsical and heartwrenching (all while it makes you laugh out loud). Everyone i show it to (and then quickly snatch back from their covetous grasp) loves this book and you will to.

33 of 46 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book...but not for children November 7, 2008

By Nicki Heskin VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Let me start by saying that I am not a Berkeley Breathed devotee... I've nothing against him mind you, and I like the comic well enough, but my comments on this book are limited to reviewing the book itself without regard to Breathed's full body of work and accomplishments.

Overall, I found Pete and Pickles to be a really interesting and thoughtful read, but I would never buy it for my kids, or read it to them. There are several reasons for this, but I'll say right off that the primary one is that the book starts off with the pig going to bed early because of a storm so that he could get on with the same nightmare he has every time it storms -- of drowning. If I read this to my 6-year old girl, she's be in my bed *every time it rained!!!* I couldn't get past that right there.

Now I know that may seem shortsighted to those who appreciate the complexity and intelligence of Breathed's work, but the main thing that I look for in a children's book is that it will good for my children. Even if I read this to her once, and miraculously avoided the attendant nightmares, I'm quite confident she'd never let me open it again, branding it as "too scary."

There is some value for children in the book, though...perhaps an older one than mine. The overall notion of stepping outside your solitary comfort zone and getting involved and allowing someone to affect and enrich your "comfortable" life is incredibly admirable. However, I feel like for young children, this message will be lost in the overall dark and creepy feel of the story. No, I don't think that everything for children needs to be cutesy and adorable, emitting sunshine and flowers. But I think this book is along the lines of animated movies that are way over children's heads.

The best and most moving part of the book in my option is actually the inside back of the dust jacket, where Breathed talks about how his daughter actually did the initial concept drawing for this book on a placemat at a restaurant. She drew an elephant holding a pig in his trunk and putting flowers on the pig's head. When he asked her what she drew, she replied the pig was sad, because he was longely, but "he doesn't know it." It really is a lovely sentiment, and so needed for kids. But overall, I think the delivery is just too complex and mature for most children.