Amazon.com Review
For a potbellied pig, Perrier seems to have it all: "a rhinestone-studded harness, a jaunty sports cap, and special piglet-sized dark glasses." And with his movie-star owner Marabella, he even gets to live in a luxurious nursery in a luxurious mansion, "a place as posh as it was plush, and spic as it was span." But Perrier still can't get over the gnawing feeling that something's missing from his squeaky-clean life, "an emptiness in the pit of his little potbelly."
Of course, anyone familiar with porcine proclivities shouldn't have too much trouble guessing what Perrier's missing, and after a visit to a farm in the country--and some illicit ishing, squishing, slushing, mushing, mucking, and miring with the locals--Perrier figures out what his piggy heart and hide have been hankering for. When Marabella discovers Perrier's dirty secret, though, he's in for the bubble bath of his life. But can he keep his hooves-over-heart promise to stay clean evermore?
Martin Matje clearly has a ball here illustrating Perrier's Hollywood excess, from cocktail parties to sports cars, and Elizabeth Spurr matches him line for line with sharp turns of phrase and squeal-worthy wit. For example, on a film set in Paris: "'Voilà, le porc, how pink and clean.' 'Wee, wee,' squeaked Perrier. 'Quel pig!' they exclaimed. 'He even speaks français!'" A guaranteed charmer for any pig--or kid--who has ever promised to stay clean. (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes
From Publishers Weekly
Perrier is a "pedigreed miniature potbellied pig," whose sparkling brand-namesake presumably implies purity and status. He belongs to a raven-haired starlet called Marbella, who totes him around Beverly Hills in a designer purse. On country vacations, Perrier usually sits poolside, but one day he meets some other pigs at a wallow. They tempt him to join them in the muck ("Good for what ails you," one says). Muddy and ashamed, he skulks home to Marbella and vows to "stay clean." But "try as he might, he could not purge his urge to sludge." Matje (Harry and Lulu) uses an elegant palette of warm pinks and grays on an expansive white ground; he sullies his mannered drawings with sensuous blotches of brown. Spurr (The Long, Long Letter) uses tabloid phrases to describe the high-class pig's lowdown habit. The plot may be familiar, but the gossipy voice and the outcome provide humor and a twist: Perrier hits rock-bottom, but bounces back when Marbella's mud facial masque and a trip for two to a Palm Desert mud bath enable him to sate his filthy desires and his uppity tastes alike. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
