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Under a Pig Tree: A History of the Noble Fruit
The publisher and author of Under a Pig Tree seem to be having communication issues. The author has written a clear, no-nonsense history of figs . But the publisher is sure she meant pigs . After all, what’s the difference between two measly letters? What results is a hilarious illustrated history of pigs, from the earliest times (“Pigs were presented as ‘medals’ to the winners of the first Olympics”) to the present day (“There is nothing better than enjoying a cup of tea or glass of milk with one of those famous Pig Newtons”). The author, needless to say, is not happy about this “little mix-up” and makes her feelings very clearly known—by scrawling all over the book!
With sticky notes from the publisher, angry scribbles from the author, wrinkles, and pages askew, Under a Pig Tree is a playful peek into a book in “midproduction” and a humorous look at the consequences of small mistakes, by industry pro Margie Palatini and up-and-coming talent Chuck Groenink.
With sticky notes from the publisher, angry scribbles from the author, wrinkles, and pages askew, Under a Pig Tree is a playful peek into a book in “midproduction” and a humorous look at the consequences of small mistakes, by industry pro Margie Palatini and up-and-coming talent Chuck Groenink.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published April 14, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews
June 10, 2015
Under a Pig Tree: A History of the Noble Fruit (A Mixed-Up Book) is a picturebook written by Margie Palatini and illustrated by Chuck Groenink. The publisher and author of Under a Pig Tree seem to be having communication issues. The author has written a clear, no-nonsense history of figs, but the publisher is sure she meant pigs. The final product is a hilarious illustrated history of pigs, from the earliest times (“Pigs were presented as ‘medals’ to the winners of the first Olympics”) to the present day (“There is nothing better than enjoying a cup of tea or glass of milk with one of those famous Pig Newtons”). The author, needless to say, is not happy about this “little mix-up” and makes her feelings very clearly known, by scrawling all over the book!
Under a Pig Tree: A History of the Noble Fruit is a highly entertaining picture book that had me chuckling aloud as I read it. this would not be so bad if I was not processing the book for library cataloging in a crowded office. The author's not at the beginning of the book really sets the tone for the book, which is full of sticky notes with corrections and commentary from the author remarking on the absurdity of replacing fig with pig. The result is a book that will have young readers giggling at the silliness of it all and adults equally (if not more) amused by the book.
I cannot recommend Under a Pig Tree: A History of the Noble Fruit enough. It will entertain readers of all ages, and has inspired a staff story time at my library to share it with those that might not otherwise get a chance to enjoy it.
Under a Pig Tree: A History of the Noble Fruit is a highly entertaining picture book that had me chuckling aloud as I read it. this would not be so bad if I was not processing the book for library cataloging in a crowded office. The author's not at the beginning of the book really sets the tone for the book, which is full of sticky notes with corrections and commentary from the author remarking on the absurdity of replacing fig with pig. The result is a book that will have young readers giggling at the silliness of it all and adults equally (if not more) amused by the book.
I cannot recommend Under a Pig Tree: A History of the Noble Fruit enough. It will entertain readers of all ages, and has inspired a staff story time at my library to share it with those that might not otherwise get a chance to enjoy it.
April 14, 2015
It's only one little letter-a p instead of an f. Why would the author care? Well, as this humorous picture book reveals, the author cares a lot since her book is supposed to tell the history of figs, but because of a publishing error, it ends up replacing all the figs with pigs. Although the book is published, the author is clearly not happy, and she communicates her annoyance through sticky notes, red-lined corrections on the title and illustrations, and notes scrawled all along the book's pages. When one publisher's note requests that she check for accuracy, she explodes in annoyance. The battle rages on throughout the pages of the book. Even the author's information stating that she is "a real pig enthusiast" results in a denial. The illustrations, created through Photoshop, gouache, and pencil, are filled with details paying tribute to pigs, not figs, while the author keeps insisting that things need to be changed. I don't know how much truth there is to anything presented in this book, but I do know it amused me thoroughly, even the Also Available titles, including A Clockwork Orangutan and Sheepspeare Classics. Wonderful for sharing with youngsters as well as their elders, who will probably get more of the references than the younger ones, this picture book even includes sly humor in the use of the publisher's last name: Cochon, which is, of course, pig in French.
May 19, 2015
This book was hilarious in the same vein as The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. The book has accidentally been printed with the word Pig instead of Fig all the way through, and there are pig illustrations that are subsequently zany. I love the author asides and corrections.
July 28, 2017
That is hilarious! Well over the head of a 6-year-old, but still hilarious.
June 17, 2015
A huge "boo-boo" by the publisher has made this potentially boring history about the fig, into a hilarious story about the pig. By replacing each instance of the word "fig" with "pig", not to mention all the illustrations, some rather unusual things occur; early Olympic medals portrayed their image, the best ones hang from the lowest branches, and "Pig Newtons" have those funny wigs. The poor author is in fits, this is not what she intended and she makes sure that we know it, scrawling her displeasure across most of the pages. This can get a bit repetitive because many are just variations of the same sentence. When we reach the page of recipes, her red pencil takes on a new feverish pitch, maxing out with an endpage full of the colour, and ending with drawings of figs as if to say, "how could you mix these two things up!". Adding insult to injury are the post-it notes left by the editor, and their mistakes with the titles in the "also available" section. Many of the illustrations make references to famous works of art, or figures, and because the artist uses a versatile style, he can shift it slightly to capture these images while still maintaining a unified look. This unique picture book will leave kids in fits of laughter.
June 13, 2015
The story of an outraged author and her uncompromising editor/publisher who refuses to run a reprint of a book with a fairly important error. Margie Palatini makes herself a character in this book as she argues back and forth with her publisher that replacing the word fig with the word pig changes the inflection of the entire book. Essentially, the editor has already had the book illustrated and printed and is now beyond the point of no return. The book is going out as is whether Palatini likes it or not, and Palatini certainly doesn't like it. If you liked the playful nature of books like Chloe and the Lion or the three Chester books, then you're bound to be a fan of this one. It just goes to show you how much one misprinted letter can change the meaning of an entire book. Very funny read.
December 18, 2015
Hilarious!
June 25, 2015
Definitely buying this for my grandmother's birthday. Such a weird little treat.
July 8, 2017
Clever book with a different style. The editor/publisher begins with a letter to the reader explaining there has been a mishap to the book. The author claims the book is about figs, however, the book has been made about pigs. Every time the word pig is in the book it should have said fig, yet the illustrations are all about pigs.
The author has written little notes in red all over the title to correct and show her mispleasure. The editor/publisher has added more notes in the book as well.
I think this is one of those picture books that is funnier for the adult than the child. Adults will get a lot of the puns that children don't, yet the illustrations will appeal to both. I would save this for students 7 or older. At times, it is confusing because the story actually makes some sense even though it says pig instead of fig. This book will most likely get funnier with re-readings as readers will notice more and more of the jokes and details.
The author has written little notes in red all over the title to correct and show her mispleasure. The editor/publisher has added more notes in the book as well.
I think this is one of those picture books that is funnier for the adult than the child. Adults will get a lot of the puns that children don't, yet the illustrations will appeal to both. I would save this for students 7 or older. At times, it is confusing because the story actually makes some sense even though it says pig instead of fig. This book will most likely get funnier with re-readings as readers will notice more and more of the jokes and details.
April 5, 2024
I appreciate what this book is trying to do, but it didn’t totally hit the mark for me—I think it might’ve been because it was too wordy and kids wouldn’t always understand the whole author and publisher sticky note exchange (not seeing the author doesn’t help with personifying the back and forth argument).
I think the illustrations were genius (great colors and cute pictures!), but it really was the text that didn’t hit right for me.
Older readers would enjoy the book, but the note at the beginning of the book and different notes throughout are very lengthy. My child did love my tone when I’d be the frustrated author, and she loved the “no” recipe pages and end page just because she could tell the red writing was bad and would imitate saying no.
I think the illustrations were genius (great colors and cute pictures!), but it really was the text that didn’t hit right for me.
Older readers would enjoy the book, but the note at the beginning of the book and different notes throughout are very lengthy. My child did love my tone when I’d be the frustrated author, and she loved the “no” recipe pages and end page just because she could tell the red writing was bad and would imitate saying no.
February 21, 2019
When I first picked up this book I wasn't so sure. The message from the publisher at the beginning of the book was a bit long but did set up the premise of the book. The text is a bit long but it is fun to work through the history of the pig - or fig! The illustrations have a lot going on and at first I thought it would be too busy for young readers but its fun. I think this book would be for older children as I am not sure how much the younger readers would understand the text but I especially liked the recipes at the end of the book.
December 12, 2021
What happens when there is a misunderstanding about a book? Like the publisher mis-reading an "f" as a "p"? This book is the result.
So I can see how this could be interesting in showing misunderstanding and misreading, but it does not do a good job modeling conflict resolution (and how the author and publishers argue is pretty childish and they never attempt real reconciliation). I honestly don't find people arguing and call each other immature funny, so didn't enjoy a lot of the "humor" in this.
No content issues.
June 1, 2018
This was an interesting read, a mixed up book that made my daughter laugh out loud! Picture book, Under a Pig Tree: A History of the Noble Fruit by Margie Palatini is written as if the publishers made a huge mistake and the author responds via editing notes. According to the authors note in the front of the book, the book was supposed to be about Figs; however, the publishers saw it as about Pigs and created the illustrations in regards to the new subject. Which makes this a very hilarious read aloud. Focusing on the illustrations and making sure to note the editing comments adds to the story tremendously.
February 7, 2018
A weird book. Supposedly the facts in it are about figs and not pigs but they don't apply to figs either i think. The stars for being unique.
July 22, 2018
One of my new favorite children's books, right up there with 'Dragons Love Tacos.'
November 16, 2019
So good.
January 4, 2020
Hilarious story with great illustrations. My parents enjoyed it too but I did fall asleep at the end.
November 11, 2022
Very talent and adorable idea! It's just like what appeared in my head when I check my son's homework!
October 18, 2024
Really cute book I’m planning to share with someone who shared their pig, er, fig trees with me. Great read for silly story time especially if you have figs to share. 🐷
September 9, 2025
I don't know how well this would work for younger kids, but for older kids who like to be in on the meta joke, I think this book would be great.
January 17, 2017
Very funny!
March 20, 2017
The kids thought this was hilarious and I could hardly read it for the interruptions of excitement where the 8-year-old, who had already read it, told me to look at different things and read it aloud over me. If you like books that break the fourth wall, this book does that. It is a written argument between the author, who knows about figs, and the editor, who thinks that the mix-up of using a p instead of an f is no big deal. Whereas the book was to be about figs, it is now about pigs. At first the sentences make sense when pig is substituted for fig, but it gets weirder and sillier.
March 1, 2017
Cute and clever, but I think some of the fun may be missed by the littler kiddos. Entertaining for older children and adults, though!
December 18, 2015
My 6 year old Grandaughter brought this book home from the library & it is especially funny and meaningful, because she lives with 3 of 4 adults as well as several other framily members who are all in various stages of not quite hearing clearly :D
Our minds tend to fill in the blanks when mishearing in conversation & it can be comical. Steam cauliflower becomes dream california... cream the dish plank was clean the fish tank... porks need hashing was forks need washing... & when I heard spark the chihuahua I walked away because we don't have one :D
She adores school, books, learning to read & spell. She recently explained to me that she had a confuselled word that day at school when she thought the word BIG was PIG because the letters look & sound so much alike.
Sometimes she will enthusiastically tell us about what she is learning but she gets shy streaks & tends to look down & mumble when faced with all of us listening at once!
Did she say pig poodles? or was that dig, fig or wig dawdle?
Silly Granma, I said BIG BOTTLES!
Needless to say we ALL read this & had a good laugh, as well as her gaining a deeper understanding, in a humorous way of how miscommunication can impact us.
This book is a definite reminder to make sure we have each others undivided attention, listen carefully, speak up clearly, face each other when talking, acknowledge that we are listening & asking each other when what we heard does not make sense in the context of what we are doing, seeing, reading or talking about & be patient with each other.
Rather than saying I'm sorry I didn't hear you (which implies we weren't listening) we try to say 'I don't think you just asked me to knees fluff the turnkey, which is what my ears heard, so what did you ask? Oh! you asked me to please stuff the turkey? Thank you so much for repeating what you said so I could hear it clearly.
Our minds tend to fill in the blanks when mishearing in conversation & it can be comical. Steam cauliflower becomes dream california... cream the dish plank was clean the fish tank... porks need hashing was forks need washing... & when I heard spark the chihuahua I walked away because we don't have one :D
She adores school, books, learning to read & spell. She recently explained to me that she had a confuselled word that day at school when she thought the word BIG was PIG because the letters look & sound so much alike.
Sometimes she will enthusiastically tell us about what she is learning but she gets shy streaks & tends to look down & mumble when faced with all of us listening at once!
Did she say pig poodles? or was that dig, fig or wig dawdle?
Silly Granma, I said BIG BOTTLES!
Needless to say we ALL read this & had a good laugh, as well as her gaining a deeper understanding, in a humorous way of how miscommunication can impact us.
This book is a definite reminder to make sure we have each others undivided attention, listen carefully, speak up clearly, face each other when talking, acknowledge that we are listening & asking each other when what we heard does not make sense in the context of what we are doing, seeing, reading or talking about & be patient with each other.
Rather than saying I'm sorry I didn't hear you (which implies we weren't listening) we try to say 'I don't think you just asked me to knees fluff the turnkey, which is what my ears heard, so what did you ask? Oh! you asked me to please stuff the turkey? Thank you so much for repeating what you said so I could hear it clearly.
November 14, 2015
A clever joke is somewhat hamstrung by mediocre illustration.
This is not so much a review of the book, as it is of the illustrations. Ms Palatini's text is clever, if a bit repetitive, but the book on the whole could have been so much better in the hands of a different illustrator. Mr Groenink is not quite up to the task he sets up for himself. Some vaguely clever art history jokes cannot cover up for the fact that he lacks the technical skills to pull of the eclectic mix of styles he is aiming for. The Ming vase, and the medieval miniature are well executed, but throughout the rest of the book he struggles to maintain the diversity he establishes early on.
It doesn't help that so many of the pigs look quite alike.
There's a muddled and overworked quality to quite a few of the pages, whereas a book like this asks for a light, and fluid touch. There are spots where he achieves this, but it's obvious mr Groenink's stylus reach exceeds his grasp.
This is not so much a review of the book, as it is of the illustrations. Ms Palatini's text is clever, if a bit repetitive, but the book on the whole could have been so much better in the hands of a different illustrator. Mr Groenink is not quite up to the task he sets up for himself. Some vaguely clever art history jokes cannot cover up for the fact that he lacks the technical skills to pull of the eclectic mix of styles he is aiming for. The Ming vase, and the medieval miniature are well executed, but throughout the rest of the book he struggles to maintain the diversity he establishes early on.
It doesn't help that so many of the pigs look quite alike.
There's a muddled and overworked quality to quite a few of the pages, whereas a book like this asks for a light, and fluid touch. There are spots where he achieves this, but it's obvious mr Groenink's stylus reach exceeds his grasp.
January 18, 2016
Hilarious mix-up of text and illustrations when the illustrator thought the story about figs was about pigs. The author tells some very interesting facts about figs, but since all the illustrations were about pigs, the publisher decided to just change one letter so that everything makes sense. Of course this infuriates the author, who lashes out with her own notes written in the margins. And who can blame her. After all, she did not set out tell a story about pigs. And no, pigs were they presented to the winners of the first Olympics in 776 BC, nor were they given to Cleopatra in the basket with the famous asp back in 30 BC. And no, the author does not keep pigs in her pantry. The recipes she shares at the end of the book might go either way, but I would recommend using figs in place of pigs. http://julianaleewriter.com/books-ali...
November 26, 2015
As an adult, I thought the concept of mixing up pigs & figs was funny and might appeal well to an older audience. I did not have an opportunity to read this to a picture book aged audience, but wondered if they would get the cross-reference enough to fully absorb the humor. (Figs are not the most well-known fruit to young children.) I did read this to my eleven year old and after seeing several sticky note illustrations in the book, she had questions about who M.P. and H.A.C. were (author/editor). A 4-year old will just laugh because the illustrations are silly and the words are nonsensical. Either way, it should achieve it's punny nonsense and entertain. The illustrations really are incredible and it's a super fun concept.
September 30, 2015
Under a Pig Tree – A History of the Noble Fruit – A Mixed-Up Book by Margie Palatini, illustrated by Chuck Groenink – I love when there are unexpected interactions between creators of the book in addition to a normal story presented… this book is all about the history of figs but the publisher has read the word fig wrong and instead puts the word pig in fig’s place. The illustrations are absolutely hilarious. The text is a riot. I see this book as a fantastic choice for a read aloud with upper elementary. I especially think it would be useful to point out how when you proofread and edit your text, you might catch mistakes before they are published. Know kids will love this book. I certainly adore this author… she’s always making the most hilarious books… Highly Recommended.
June 19, 2015
I'd been curious about this book since it first came out.
I debated whether to include this as part of my Nonfiction Picture Books but I'm doing it.
A typo leads to a miscommunication between the author and her editor. What's supposed to be a well-researched book about figs becomes a hilariously illustrated book full of pigs with commentaries between the two parties!
This would probably work best for mid-elementary kids but younger readers will enjoy the cute pictures and the silliness of the text. Fig facts. Pig fun. A good introduction to publication as well. Includes recipes (for figs.)
I debated whether to include this as part of my Nonfiction Picture Books but I'm doing it.
A typo leads to a miscommunication between the author and her editor. What's supposed to be a well-researched book about figs becomes a hilariously illustrated book full of pigs with commentaries between the two parties!
This would probably work best for mid-elementary kids but younger readers will enjoy the cute pictures and the silliness of the text. Fig facts. Pig fun. A good introduction to publication as well. Includes recipes (for figs.)
June 25, 2015
The author tries to convince the publisher and the reader that her book is actually about FIGS and not pigs, as the pictures and text suggest. Use this humorous "mixed up" story to get kids thinking about the bookmaking process and the importance of proofreading one's work.
Added bonus: I learned a lot of fun and interesting facts about pigs (I mean, FIGS) while reading this. A list of notes and resources would have developed some context for the information, and that would have been a really nice touch--but teachers can use the lack of citations to challenge students to research and fact-check the author's claims.
Added bonus: I learned a lot of fun and interesting facts about pigs (I mean, FIGS) while reading this. A list of notes and resources would have developed some context for the information, and that would have been a really nice touch--but teachers can use the lack of citations to challenge students to research and fact-check the author's claims.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 74 reviews