PIGGY AND PUG

An abandoned dog finds a new family and friendship in this picture book.

Pug is a small canine who lives happily with a human family in a small house. Piggy, a petite speckled pig, lives on a farm, loves to play with the boy who takes care of her, and is sad when he’s at school. One day, Pug’s family suddenly moves, leaving him behind; meanwhile, Piggy tries to make new friends on the farm. However, butterflies and turtles flee from Pug, and the pig has no luck talking with cows and chickens. After a fox chases Pug to the farm, the dog and pig find each other. The farm family realizes that Pug’s former owners left him behind because they couldn’t afford him, so they decide to keep him. This quirky tale of friendship has a happy ending, and readers are sure to take its lessons to heart. The book seems like it might have been intended to have full-page illustrations; instead, it presents four small ones on every two-page spread. Still, debut author Wheaton’s accessible text is surrounded by white space, which will make it accessible for newly independent readers; the easy-to-follow plot will keep them engaged. Debut illustrator Jacob’s brightly colored images feature lovable animal characters and Caucasian humans in a Disney-like style.

A bittersweet, vividly rendered animal story.