TEN PIGS

Ten pigs in a tub?! That can’t be fun.

“One pig. // One very happy pig. // ‘This bathtub is perfect for just me and you,’ ” he says to his rubber ducky—then “along comes Pig Number Two.” Two might fit in even with the beach ball the second pig is carrying, but surely that’s all that can fit. It isn’t too long before a third pig jumps in, snorkel, fins and all. A fourth is right behind him. “ ‘Arggh,’ says Five. And Six gives a toot! / Seven launches his boat with a sailor’s salute.” Then Eight, Nine and Ten crowd in; the bath is no fun anymore, now that it’s so full of piggies. Suddenly, though, one pig spies something frightening. A countdown of moist pigs make a run for it—it’s a wolf! So now there’s one very happy wolf in the tub…or is that a zipper…and a pig in disguise? Anderson’s joyous, porcine counting rhyme is bathtime (and storytime) fun. His bright-eyed, cartoon porkers, rendered in “ink, Photoshop and soap suds,” are expressive, goofy and engaging.

Toddlers will enjoy this, the cleanest piggy count ever.