Pigsty [Hardcover]

Mark Teague (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up

Wendell Fultz, a young boy whose room is so messy that it becomes a pigsty, is horrified when some pigs decide that the place is just perfect and decide to move in. By the author of The Field Beyond the Outfield.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Teague ( The Trouble with the Johnsons ; The Field Beyond the Outfield ) is once again right on target, this time skewering a subject dear to families everywhere with his idiosyncratic brand of sly humor. When his mother pronounces his room a "pigsty" and sends him upstairs to clean it, Wendell Fultz finds a large pig lounging on the bed (unmade, naturally). Unfazed, the feckless Wendell simply rearranges the mess and joins in the merriment. His mother gives up, and for the next week, Wendell cohabits happily (and untidily) with his newfound friend--and yet another porcine companion follows close on his hooves. But when a second pair of pigs shows up and the four of them start ruining Wendell's toys, even he has to admit that the mess is getting to be too much. Much of the tale's fun resides in Teague's quirky acrylic art (the first word of the text, for example, features a dropped capital "M" fashioned from dirty socks). Whether Wendell and his friends are jumping on the bed or playing Monopoly on the rug, their antics are rendered in the bold palette of a gleefully inventive imagination. Highly recommended for neat-freaks and mess-makers alike. Ages 6-9.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-An amiable fantasy on a common theme. When Wendell's mother takes a look at his messy room, throws up her hands in resignation, and tells him he can live in a pigsty if he wants to, he is delighted. What only he knows is that two pigs have found his room so agreeable that they have moved in. He enjoys playing with them, even though he has to give them his bed and they hog his pillows and blankets. But even Wendell has his limit, and when they chew his baseball cards, he reaches it. His mother hands her son a broom, and in a flash of inspiration he organizes the porkers into a cleaning crew. Finding the room a bit too neat for their liking, they return to the farm. Wendell, having learned his lesson, keeps his room tidy after that-except for the occasions when the animals return for a game of Monopoly. Though the premise is not original, it is deftly executed in an appropriately humorous style that has great child appeal. The acrylic, cartoonlike illustrations evoke a time when boys played with yo-yos, electric trains, and board games. Teague's use of clean line renders the paintings easily visible for group sharing, but close observation reveals comical details. An enjoyable choice for story time and for reading at home.
Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich, CT
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Press (September 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590459155
• ISBN-13: 978-0590459150
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,406,984 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Many Hooves make light work, November 5, 2004

By 

Bonnie Sayers "autismfamily" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pigsty (Hardcover)

The story starts on a Monday afternoon in the home of Wendell Fultz. His mother wants his room cleaned up before it looks like a Pigsty. This first picture of Wendell makes him appear to be older than one would believe. The facial features along with his hair seemed to indicate he was a young adult. The next page he enters his room with toys all around the room. There is a train set on the floor with farm animals, a football, pillow and stuffed green dinosaur. A book entitled Farm Animals also on the side of his bed looks like one a younger child would read.

Wendell finds a surprise in his room upon his bed, a large pig. On the other side of the bed is an open window, which may explain how the pig landed in his bed. The very next page has the Pig eating potato chips and reading a strange stories book with the cover showing a pig behind the wheel of a car leaving a barn.

Pigsty is an easy to read book with the pictures telling most of the story for someone not at the reading stage yet. For a child interested in animals this is fun to read and listen to the story. Wendell learns about taking responsibility for his room and puts his foot down to the pigs when he has had enough.

Pigsty also shows team work among the animals and the boy with the best of both worlds having the pigs visit once a week for a game in a clean room. For a child who may like picking items out of the pictures this is a good book for that since you see the various items on the floor and can name them and see where they end up on the next page.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pigsty grabs a child imagination as well as teaches a lesson, July 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pigsty (Hardcover)

Charles W. Gilmore Rodney Feaster English 101, section 2 Dr. Michelle H. Martin 7-22-99 Review for Pigsty Wendell Fultz has a mess in his room with a bunch of pigs sitting in it. He does not want to clean up his room. His mother asks him to but he refuses. His room is always in a mess. She tells him he is living in a pigsty and pretty soon his room really does turn into a pigsty because pigs move it with him. The pictures are very colorful but are splattered like a mess all over the pages. This is a very good book for young kids. It teaches kids that they have to be responsible for what they do and in the book Wendell finds that out the hard way.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Would You Ever Want a Mess as Big as Your Room?, April 1, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Pigsty (Hardcover)

Would you ever want to have a mess as big as the size of your bedroom? The book Pigsty, by Mark Teague was about a boy named Wendell who doesn't want to clean up his bedroom. I liked the part in this book when the pigs have to sleep in Wendell's bed because there is no room on the floor. This is good because it teaches you to always listen to your mom and clean up your room. If you don't pigs will start to live with you so, watch out! Will the pigs ever leave Wendell's room? You will find out if you read this book.