I absolutely love this book. The story is so cute. I think that the story is so hysterical about a pig that dresses up like her master. This book has a lot of instances for dramatic action. Where as a teacher you can stop and have the kids pantomime the emotion Petunia was having at that moment. The text itself is brilliant like most of Polacco’s books she uses great vocabulary. She also uses great detail “A wry smile crept across Petunia’s face…” The words “wry” and “crept” are great descriptions that enrich the story. She uses more descriptive verbs that help children learn how to write better. For instances she uses “she cooed” or “tugged off her…” or “dragged her…” all of these verbs convey more information that a simple “say” or “took off” or “took”. The more children read high quality writing the better they will become.
The illustrations are drawn with pencil and colored. They help add little asides to the story. For example the section of the book where she listens to her students the text says “she listens….she listens….and listens!” The illustrations show a very dramatic Ginger swooning over she piano and listening dutifully to her students. The text does not mention that it is tedious but the illustrations clearly imply it. The images also have a very good use of line. The use of line helps adds a layer to the style of lavish lifestyle that Ginger and Petunia live. This book would be great to be a read aloud to students. It also has places where student might like to act out. I recommend this book.
Published:2007
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