Piggypine

by Richard T. Morris, Charles Santoso (illustrator)

"A discarded doodle who is half pig, half porcupine wanders into someone else's story and tries to convince the narrator to let him be a part of it"--

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Animals, Fiction, Childrens, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

Published October 28, 2025

About the author

Richard T. Morris is the author of This Is a Moose and Bye-Bye, Baby! and a former E.B. White Award Honoree and Midwest Bookseller Choice Award winner. He lives in New Jersey with his family.

Reviews

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Piggypine, a creature that is half pig and half porcupine, finds himself on the pages of a book. Finally after all that time stuck in a dark drawer he had found his story! Well, not really. The narrator insists this is not Piggypine's story; this story is about a little girl named Ruby getting her first dog. Piggypine lobbies as hard as he can to find a spot in this story; so hard that eventually Ruby, who is supposed to be picking up her new dog, decides she wants Piggypine for a pet instead.

Children will love rooting for Piggypine to find his place. Recommended for storytime.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok. My kids were not into it.

[Terresa Wellborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Themes: dogs, pigs(?), humor, interactive books that break the 4th wall
Ages: 1-3rd grade
Pub year: 2025

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not for story time, but a very fun lap read for 4 and up.

[Carlyn Morenus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the illustrations adorable and I liked the exploration of identity and self-awareness in a lighthearted, fun little way.

[Johannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sweet and adorable! Perhaps a little bit…meta (?) for littles but I think if they do get it, they’ll love it!

[Elizabeth]

This was cute... both the story and the illustrations.

[Jillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious! Breaks the fourth wall / meta book about stories. Cute and funny and talks about how stories are made? That'll be a win for reading with kids!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really cute book. Loved the illustrations.

[Gina · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun silly book for storytime. Creative creature called Piggypine.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. I can relate to Piggypine.