Hogwood Steps Out: A Good, Good Pig Story (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Hogwood Steps Out: A Good, Good Pig Story Deborah Stevenson Mansfield, Howard; Hogwood Steps Out: A Good, Good Pig Story; illus. by Barry Moser;. Porter/Roaring Brook, 2008; [32p] ISBN 978-1-59643-269-7 $16.95 Reviewed from galleys R 4-7 yrs Those familiar with Sy Montgomery's adult work The Good, Good Pig will recognize the protagonist here: 600-pound pig Christopher Hogwood. In this picture-book tale authored by Montgomery's husband, Christopher Hogwood narrates his own account of a spontaneous spring outing. Having learned how to open the gate on his pen, Hogwood slips out to enjoy a balmy day, relishing a snack in somebody's lettuce planting, the digging up of somebody else's lawn ("I can roll up a whole lawn like a carpet if I want"), and an exploration of the lovely cool soil exposed by a backhoe; finally Officer Friendly catches up to Hogwood and coaxes him back home. It's the pig's unabashedly narcissistic, happily hedonistic voice that really makes this story; kids will giggle at his terming his owners his "feeders" and his assumption that all tasty crops are planted with his snacking in mind. Though Moser's humans are somewhat stiffly drafted, his Christopher Hogwood is a magnificent porcine presence looming across the spreads, his harlequin coat a cheerful decorative item amid the verdant landscapes. He gets face time befitting a narrator and hero, but he remains realistically piggy in his blissful expressions. There's a touch of No, David meets the barnyard here, and kids will thrill to Hogwood's genial and unstoppable marauding even as they wish they too had a household porker. Copyright © 2008 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois