Piggy Monday

In this wickedly humorous tale about the importance of manners, Bloom (The Bus for Us, not reviewed, etc.) brings the reader into Mrs. Hubbub's classroom, where the children spend the day learning an unforgettable lesson in respect. In rhyming fashion, the reader discovers a selfish bunch of classmates who have forgotten such cooperative lessons as sharing, taking turns, and saying "please." Without regard for being polite, each child, limb by limb, begins transforming into a pig. "Meanwhile Tommy picked his nose and found he'd grown a snout." In place of hands there are hooves, then long, pointed ears and squiggly tails complete the picture. Their speech becomes nothing more than a grunt. When the school nurse determines that this is a job for a specialist, Pig Lady is called to the rescue. She does a wonderful job at helping the children discover for themselves how much more pleasing people and relationships are when good manners are used. With each good deed, pig parts begin to disappear, and when all the children are human once again, they recall what they learned and get along. Bloom illustrates with richly colored gouache and colored pencils on solid white paper, creating the figures in a variety of schoolhouse settings. The shadowing is scarce, giving the illusion that everything is suspended in air. Blending the two art forms helps create bold contrasts, and black line lends definition to the work. A needed theme with enough wit to make it palatable. (Picture book. 5-9)