PIGGIES IN THE PUMPKIN PATCH

“Piggies in the pumpkin patch / peek / and sneak, / under crinkly, / clean sheets, / over growing, / green beans, / behind snoring, sleepy sheep, / into the clover field.” Two curious piglets romp through the clover fields and across the barnyard. They play with cats and chase squirrels until they execute an accidental muddy slide into the bull’s pen: “Squeal!!” They take off, avoiding shrieking geese and spooky trees. They make it past stinging bees and back to the pumpkin patch where snoozing Mama pig awaits…after all that, it’s definitely naptime for all! Rofé’s first and Peterson’s first to co-write as well as illustrate will be a staple for piggie-themed storytimes. The pencil-and-paint illustrations are pudgy, whimsical, frenetic fun, rendered in a muted yellow, brown and green palette. The rhythmic text flows and twists following the oinking hijinks, each preposition nicely bolded. The fun continues on the endpapers, which map the porcine expedition from start to finish. (Picture book. 2-4)