"Like most children, you have probably thought to yourself at one time or another, I bet a pig parade would be a lot of fun." This bold style of second person narration continues to entertain throughout A Pig Parade is a Terrible Idea. It is actually quite hard to decide which is more entertaining: the voice of the book or the pictures. The charcoal sketched and painted illustrations display great contrast between the busy and vibrantly colored pictures used to depict the narrator's imagined pig parade, versus the dull grey-tinged illustrations of how real pigs react when you try to prepare them for a parade. This humorous contrast (picture a pig stuffed in a majorette uniform ripping at the seams) cleverly portrays the disappoint children sometimes experience when real life does not live up to their imagination.
Perhaps your child can relate to the narrator's childish reasoning of things, such as why the pigs would refuse to wear uniforms; "Perhaps they consider majorette uniforms unflattering. Nonsense. Everybody looks sharp in a majorette uniform, even pigs (especially pigs!)" Clever use of italics adds emphasis to the narrator's words and greatly encourages the story be read with some sass. I guarantee your child will love it if you do! This books is full of fun and will be one requested over and over. There are also plenty of pauses to look at the pictures, point, laugh, and discuss.
After reading about 'snuffling' (when pigs walk around with their nose to the ground, snuffling for food), my four year-old niece, Emily, just had to give it a try. She had us all completely cracking up! She also got a kick out of the close-up picture of one pig's nose after snuffling, complete with dripping mud, chewing gum bits, a dead bug, and a old lollipop! Luckily, we had vacuumed before Emily commenced her snuffling!
--Audra