PIG IN JEANS

Why would a pig wear pants? Pockets, of course!

Brian wears his jeans everywhere, all the time, much to his friends’ confusion. No other trousers will do (“Shorts are too short.” “Tights are too tight”). But the main reason Brian loves his jeans? The pockets. “There are two in the front. Two on the bum. There is even a pocket inside a pocket!” Brian hides so many things in his pockets that not even his BFF, Nathan, knows what’s in them. When he and Nathan, a (clothing-less) unicorn, encounter troubled creatures on a stroll, Brian’s pockets provide improbable solutions, from sprinkles for a baker in need of toppings to a sock to help a squirrel carry home nuts. “Now I know what you keep in your pockets,” says Nathan. “Random stuff!” The anthropomorphic animals are all egg-shaped, with stick limbs in a style vaguely reminiscent of Dav Pilkey’s Captain Underpants. Li provides some lighthearted backstory for Brian, who’s appeared in several of her other, self-published books. Whatever Brian’s tale may lack in plot, it makes up for in laughs. With kid-friendly prose, fun illustrations, and a dash of underwear-related humor, this tale will make for a wonderfully silly storytime.

Puckish praise for pockets.