About This Book
Reach for this book when your child is obsessed with farm life or has expressed a sudden curiosity about where animals live and what they do all day. It is the perfect bridge for a toddler or preschooler who is moving past simple picture books and starting to ask 'why' and 'how' about the natural world. Author Gail Gibbons provides a comprehensive yet gentle look at pigs, covering everything from their historical origins to the specific names for family members like sows and boars. Through clear illustrations and straightforward text, the book celebrates the intelligence and cleanliness of these often-misunderstood animals. It is an excellent choice for building vocabulary and fostering a respect for living creatures and the work of farming.
What Parents Should Know
Sensitive Topics
The book mentions that pigs are raised for food ('what becomes of them when they are full-grown'). The approach is direct and secular, presented as a matter-of-fact reality of agricultural life without graphic detail.
Ideal Reader
A 5-year-old 'expert' who loves to memorize facts and wants to know the 'real' names for things. It is also great for a child preparing for a first trip to a county fair or a petting zoo.
Parent Prep
Parents should decide how they want to handle the 'pigs as livestock' conversation. The book is very matter-of-fact, so parents can either breeze past it or use it as a starting point for talking about where food comes from. A child might ask, 'What does it mean that we eat them?' after reading the section on what happens when they are full-grown.
Age Experience
Younger children (4-5) will focus on the bright illustrations and the fun names like 'piglet.' Older children (7-8) will appreciate the diagrams and the historical context of the wild boar.
What Makes It Special
Unlike many 'farm' books that treat pigs as pink caricatures, Gibbons treats them as a legitimate subject of biological and historical study, elevating the child's understanding of the animal's true nature.
Read plot summary
This is a classic Gail Gibbons nonfiction primer. It introduces the pig as a species, detailing its ancestry from wild boars, its physical anatomy (snouts, trotters, tails), and its social behaviors. It categorizes different breeds by their physical markings and explains the lifecycle from piglet to adult, including diet and farm environments.
Discussion Prompts
1
The book says pigs like to stay cool in the mud. Can you think of other ways animals (or people!) stay cool when it is hot outside?
2
We learned about sows, boars, and piglets. How are those names different from the names we use for people in a family?
3
Gail Gibbons shows us many different breeds like the Chester White and the Berkshire. Which pig's colors or spots did you like the best and why?
4
Pigs have a very strong sense of smell. If you were a pig using your snout, what is the first thing you would want to sniff?
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