Cupig: The Valentine's Day Pig

by Claire Tattersfield, Rob Sayegh Jr. (Illustrator)

"Sure to steal readers’ hearts."-- Kirkus reviews

A comically mismatched Valentine's Day picture book with a clever and hilarious take on Cupid. Introducing Cupig the Valentine's Day pig!

Cupig absolutely loves Valentine's Day. Every year she enjoys spreading love and cheer to every creature, far and near. But when a storm blows through and sends her arrows off course, Cupig accidentally puts arrows in hearts that don't need to be mended. Peanut Butter has stopped loving Jelly! Salt and Pepper have broken up! Needle and Thread are falling apart at the seams!

Will Cupig ever fix her mistakes and get these classic pairs back together again?

With clever rhyming text and comically expressive art, Cupig is sure to be a Valentine's Day classic for years to come! The perfect Valentine's Day gift and for fans of Little Blue Truck's Valentine, How to Catch a Loveosaurus, and Love from the Crayons !

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday, Love, Fantasy, Animals, Humor

32 pages, Hardcover

Published November 21, 2023

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

On a windy day some of Cupig's arrows miss their mark - salt and pepper break up and peanut butter and jelly go their separate ways (peanut butter now loves sardine)! What can Cupig do to set things right? Fun book about the labor of love - lost for the moment - and how it can get back to the way we all love; no peanut butter and sardines - please!

[BellaGreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here I am scrolling through Libby new releases and I saw this picture book and decided why not? It was really cute and fun and I highly recommend!

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so cute. Seriously, I loved it. Punny and fun. Clever!

[Elizabeth Sholtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cupig is just like me! She has to meddle! She cant leave a bitch alone

[Talia Messina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was surprisingly funny

[Élise Massé · Rating 3 out of 5]

C'était cute comme conte, ça rime, les dessins sont mignons, mais je m'attendais à plus . Pas un coup de coeur pour moi 🫤

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was SO CUTE

[Jessica Calaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

Age 3-7

3.5

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny. The kids will like it.

[Klue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonus points for the Titanic reference.

[Brittany Whitlock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute read. Pretty sure it’ll be a few years til my daughter understands a good chunk of the words.

And yes I’m using my mom card to up my “books read” this year lol

[Destiny]

This was a banger

[Derrick Ranostaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story was pig-ture perfect!

[Pug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mildly amusing... I mean, the pig is wearing underpants with hearts on them, so that's hard to resist!
Plus the pug shirking his bone for a xylophone - LOL!

But many of the rhymes were a real stretch. Cringeworthy, even. And it never clarified just HOW she made things right.

[Dylan Teut]

I really wanted to like this book, but the forced/ bizarre rhymes are tough on the ears and not something I could get past. Rob's illustrations are great!

[Meghan Bohn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute idea and illustrations, but the rhymes are awkward.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable premise and illustrations but it's not clear why the text had to rhyme.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Cupig loves Valentine's Day, and enjoys spreading love, but when windy weather makes her arrows fly off course, she questions her mission. Soon, peanut butter loves anchovies instead of jelly, the fork and knife break up, and unusual pairs like a horse and butterfly, salt and garbage, and a needle and a haystack are created. Cupig sees the unhappiness that she has sown, and when the weather clears, tries to amend her mistakes. Soon the dog and bone are reunited, along with pen and paper and needle and thread. Cupig once again really loves love, and those around are happier. Cupig also realizes that it's okay to take the day off if things look like they will take a disastrous turn!

Cupid is quite cute, and enthusiastic about her mission. I was a little confused about why she was wearing heart print jockey shorts, and her wings look a little small to carry her weight, but her facial expressions are fantastic. I love the bits of the drawings that looked a bit like tissue paper collage, and the background colors are a bit muted, but complementary to Cupig's pink and red, so she really pops!

The text is rhyming, so moves along quickly, and embraces the humor of Cupig's odd parings. I don't think I would like anchovies with my peanut butter, and paper certainly shouldn't have run off with a polar bear!

While this would be a great book for Valentine's day, it would also be a great option for children who like books with anthropomorphic food, like Border's Peanut Butter and Cupcake and Funk's Sir Pancake and Lady French Toast, or books with pig protagonists like Numeroff's If You Give a Pig a Pancake or Willem's Elephant and Piggie.

I found this a little disappointing. The verse was very uneven, and I was confused as to what the message was. We can only be stuck with a stereotypical match? And where did the polar bear come from. Why can't the needle love the haystack instead of thread. If you overthink anything, it becomes incomprehensible, so don't let my nosedive into philosophy detract from your enjoyment of this title. I just wanted something... different.

[Kathy Temean · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a clever, cute picture book. I loved how the weather interfered with Cupig's aim making her arrows hit the wrong targets. What a mess. Paper falls in love with a polar bear, leaving Pen to write on the ice saying "I'll never let go." I love the illustration where a stray arrow hits Pepper who falls in love with Garbage Can and Salt looks up and says, "Love Stinks!" Then needle leaves thread for a haystack. The whole book made me laugh. The quick-witted rhyming text and the comical illustrations are sure to make children and their parents giggle turning every page.

Rob's colorful illustrations are a perfect match for the book. Nice ending with Cupig lying in bed after fixing up her mess. A must-have for Valentine's Day.

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I first heard the title and saw the flying pig in dotted underwear, I knew I had to get my hands on a copy of Cupig. I was surprised the text was rhyming and even contained one near miss. Speaking of misses, the well-meaning main character plans to spread a little Valentine's spirit but causes chaos instead. The story mostly consists of clever puns and silly pairs, lending itself to giggles and groans from its readers. The back page of punch-out Cupig valentines to give and receive are a sweet bonus.

[Vanessa Richards · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute book about a flying pig who on Valentine's Day was ready to go make everyone's day great. Cupig's aim was not very good though and unfortunately, objects fell for objects that they did not belong with. Cupig spent the whole day trying to fix the relationships that he had broken and at the end of the story said that it is okay to take a day off. I loved this book and I think that it was really sweet for a read-aloud book. It was funny and an easy read with a good message.
Author: Claire Tattersfield
Illustrator: Rob Sayegh Jr.
Publisher: Flamingo Books November 21, 2023

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for a Love themed storytime and it's a cute book! Silly Cupig (play on cupid, but this is a pig with wings) accidentally makes some love mistakes during a big storm. For an example, Peanut Butter stopped loving Jelly and fell in love with Anchovies. Throughout the story Cupig finds more love mistakes. I love the way the story flows and how it rhymes nicely. The illustrations go really well with the story.

SPOILER AHEAD:

In the end, Cupig fixes the mistakes and everything is back to normal.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Received as a gift. The book's cover and title are very cute, I can see why someone selected it, but the content is not: "It looks like Fork has just left Knife even though they had a perfect life! But now that Fork loves Knife no more, they've moved into a different drawer." I see how the author is trying to be funny/clever throughout the book, but the writing immediately seemed off for a children's book.

[Pam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet story of a pig who wants to celebrate and spread love. When a storm rolls in on Valentine's Day, his love arrows go astray and readers see the results. New connections form and items we all appreciate as couples separate due to Cupig's arrows. When he realizes what happened, he sets about helping everyone get back together. Peanut Butter is much happier with Jelly again after changing to Anchovy, etc. Young readers will appreciate the humor and react to the different pairings throughout.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros: Hilarious mixed-up matches, like peanut butter falling in love with anchovies.

Cons: The phrases rhyme, but the cadence isn't consistent, so it felt off to me.

I think the goal of the book was to be silly and the message was supposed to be that mistakes can be fixed. The reader might also get the message that you should only be in love with one particular person, or that who you love is dependent on a capricious cupid.

[Rachel H · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this in line at Barnes and Noble. The cover looked cute, but the message I got from it was not. I read the story as homophobic. "Don't let a windy day cause non-conventional relationships, because they are unnatural." Maybe I'm conflating the message; I don't know. It really rubbed me the wrong way.

[AMY · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet book about a little cupid pig who makes a few mistakes when sending love arrows. It is a rhyming book with lots of humor and style. I read it to first and second-graders. The second graders seemed to get the humor better. Kids will love this one, especially on Valentine's Day. Highly recommended for Grades 2-4.

[Stephanie Mock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grabbed this book for my son for Valentine’s Day and it’s safe to say, I enjoyed it just as much as he did. This was such a cute story of Cupig hitting all the wrong targets on the count of the weather throwing her arrows off course.
Well written with clever rhyming, beautiful and comically expressive illustrations, all making for a book that must be added to your children’s book shelf!

[Brittney Cayford]

This is a cute and silly book written perfectly for the holiday of Valentine's or also showing students "love" themes. This a fun way to represent "Cupid" for children, and the funny experiences that happen to Cupig. This is modern fantasy because of the silly misadventures that occur to Cupig. Cupig talks- making it fantasy.

[Manda Marigold · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book follows Cupig, the Valentine's Day pig. Cupig desires to spread love and cheers, but things go wrong. Her arrows split dynamic duos and make new yet strange combinations. Can Cupig rectify her mistakes and save Valentine's Day before it's too late? Overall, this book was an engaging and cute Valentine's Day-themed read with wonderful illustrations.