Radiant, elegantly textured illustrations capture the very heart of this unusual story about a divining rod, a beloved pig, and a quiet granddaughter with gifts of her own to uncover. Together, word and image reveal that there is indeed much more to this world than what we see.
The Water Gift and the Pig of the Pig
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-4-Grandfather left the sea when he married, but even now he's a water man at heart. His shy granddaughter, Isabel, loves his tales. She loves fishing with him and going dowsing, too, to find underground water. But most of all, she loves the Pig of the Pig, the last pig of the last litter of the pig that sailed with Grandfather around Cape Horn. When he becomes discouraged after several unsuccessful attempts at finding water and the Pig disappears, the child discovers within herself a courage and a gift she never knew she had. The lengthy story is wonderfully paced and offers some delightful moments, as when the young narrator uses a rock as a pretend ship and sails out to sea, heedless of the "wind that cuts like scissors and saw blades," or when she tells readers about a grouchy neighbor, who, Grandfather says, "-wouldn't give away the good smell from a piece of warm toast." The large acrylic paintings, some of which are spreads, are framed in white, and Wingerter's brush strokes achieve a texture that is perfectly suited to rendering wind and sea and tall farm grasses. The artist's depiction of the grandmother, granddaughter, and the Pig, all sitting before the stove listening to Grandfather's yarns, speaks to the warmth and contentment they share. A fine addition to any collection.
Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community College, CT
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
K-Gr. 2. Isabel's family has an unusual knack for finding precious things. Her grandfather is a "water man," who traveled the sea on a ship. He also has "the water gift," the ability to use a divining rod to find the best places to locate water. But after many successes, Grandfather had a run of bad luck and gave up trying. After Pig, Grandfather's animal companion from seafaring days, disappears in the vicinity of a mean, bacon-hungry neighbor, Isabel discovers that she shares her grandfather's magical ability. It's a gentle, poignant story graced with legend and mystery, and Martin's elegant prose is beautifully complemented by Wingerter's soothing, richly textured acrylic paintings, which recall the tranquility and pastoral themes of Andrew Wyeth's work. Ed Sullivan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Product Details
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More About the Author
Jacqueline Briggs Martin is the author of Snowflake Bentley, winner of the 1999 Caldecott Medal. She grew up on a farm in Maine and now she lives in Mt. Vernon, Iowa.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Uplifting!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Water Gift and the Pig of the Pig (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards)) (Hardcover)
"The Water Gift and the Pig of the Pig" is hardly what I would call a depressing picture book! Yet the previous reviewer used the word no less than five times in her appraisal of this magical, uplifting story by Jacqueline Briggs Martin. Far from depressing, "The Water Gift" conveys a positive message of hope and determination. When Grandfather's beloved pet Pig goes missing so does his "gift" for dowsing. "Dowsing" is the ancient folk art of locating underground water (and other hidden things) through the use of a forked stick or divining rods.Desperate to both restore Grandfather's faith in himself and to find the missing Pig before a nasty neighbor does, shy Isobel takes up her own sticks to see if she, too, has "the gift." As for how Isobel overcomes the many fears and doubts she faces and whether or not she reunites Grandfather and Pig I leave that to you, the reader, to discover for yourself. Linda Wingerter's jewel-like paintings perfectly compliment Martin's literate and poetic prose. This book is a future classic waiting to be discovered.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet, sincere, and lovely.,
By Leslie Ann (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Water Gift and the Pig of the Pig (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards)) (Hardcover)
I read many children's books in my search for a lovely story from which to write an essay for my children's literature course. After shuffling through dozens of so called "wonderful" children's books, I found this amazing little story.
I can't imagine anyone declaring this book "depressing" in any way. It deals with the adult theme of depression, but does so in such a way that it is truly uplifting and hopeful. Besides, that isn't even the main theme, the main theme here is family togetherness, and do whatever one must to help out the ones they love. With classically beautiful artwork and solid storytelling, this is going straight into my personal library...regardless of the fact that I'm well beyond the target age group for this lovely little book.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Radiant, lyrical look at the world,
By Reader from Rice Lake (Rice Lake, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Water Gift and the Pig of the Pig (Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards (Awards)) (Hardcover)
The Pig of the Pig -- offspring of a sailing pig that could smell a storm coming. The Water Gift -- a few rare people are given the gift of detecting water with a divining rod and a respect for the earth. These are two of the fascinating elements in this wonderful book, along with a young heroine who is an optimistic explorer. When her grandfather listens to one too many crabby neighbors and loses faith in himself--and the Pig of the Pig wanders away, it is Isabel who figures out what to do to set things right. A perfect combination of story and illustrations -- a lovely book.
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Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
For many centuries there have been those, including children, who could locate underground water (and sometimes gold or silver, lost people or animals) by walking across the ground holding a Y-shaped branch. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Pig of the Pig, Ben Stinchfield, Cape Horn New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
For many centuries there have been those, including children, who could locate underground water (and sometimes gold or silver, lost people or animals) by walking across the ground holding a Y-shaped branch. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Pig of the Pig, Ben Stinchfield, Cape Horn New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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