IF YOU GIVE A PIG A PANCAKE

The familiar circular formula employing a cookie-eating, milk-guzzling mouse and muffin-eating moose now showcases a pancake-eating pig who, as readers may have come to expect, might be in need of some maple syrup. The domino effect is in full force: The sticky syrup must be dealt with in the bath; the bath demands a rubber duck; the duck prompts the pig to recall her farm origins; and so on. One adventure after another includes tap-dancing, picture-taking, and treehouse-building. In the act of interior decorating, the use of sticky wallpaper reminds the pig of the maple syrup, which leads back to the pancake. The funny, clever formula creates just the right amount of anticipation, with plenty of visual humor accompanying the antics. Whether the homesick pig is wrapped in a bath towel clutching her rubber duck or pirouetting on a tightrope, she’ll please fans of the previous books, who will relish more of the same. (Picture book. 2-5)