Hogwash

by Arthur Geisert

It’s bath time! All the little piggies have had lots of fun playing, and now they’re dirty, muddy, and covered in paint. But their mamas aren’t worried—they have just the machine to turn this Herculean task into an adventure. Anyone who has ever been captivated by the swaying brushes and spinning jets of soap and water at the car wash will be in hog heaven as Arthur Geisert’s intricate etchings reveal the inner workings of an enormous contraption that can lather and scrub a whole farm full of dirty little piglets in no time at all—and that’s not just a bunch of hogwash!

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 2008

About the author

Arthur Geisert grew up in Los Angeles, California, and claims not to have seen a pig until he was an adult. Trained as a sculptor in college, Geisert learned to etch at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. Geisert has published just about a book a year for the past thirty years. Every one of his books has been illustrated with etchings. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and The Horn Book Magazine. In 2010 his book Ice was selected as a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated book of the year. Geisert currently lives in a converted bank building in Bernard, Iowa.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can appreciate the creativity of mother pig's elaborate "hogwash" contraption (and the details in Geisert's illustrations) but this is a case where I really would have liked some text to feel more invested in the "story." That said, I do think some readers will really love that this is a wordless picture book and kids will probably have a great time looking at the detailed illustrations and trying to figure out how the contraption works :-)

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our favorite wordless picture book for preschoolers by far (so far). Irresistible fantasy for the age group ("I want to do that!"). Complicated-seeming contraptions invite close inspection, but there's nothing too subtle for a 3 year old to figure out, unlike many award-winning wordless picture books that really are for older kids.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Piggies get washed in a vast Rube-Goldberg-like contraption, in Geisert's wordless book. I'm a big fan of his etchings. This book, a hardcover, weighs about 0.001 ounce and was manufactured in China - like all children's books now, apparently. Really? Do we really have to manufacture our juvenile literary works in China?

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geisert, Arthur. Hogwash. Unpaged. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2008.

Ever wonder how pigs get so muddy? Well it is no easy task. This wordless book shows us how it happens. Then it shows us exactly how they get all cleaned up! Any you won’t believe your eyes. The illustrations certainly tell the fun story. They are complex and speak a thousand words.

EL (K-3) – Advisable. Reviewer: Susan Huff, Area Library Media Specialist.
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2008...

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Etchings by Arthur Geisert will amaze you, or continue to amaze you... if you've seen his other picture books. They contain the most fascinating etchings... of pigs.

Any child who has ever had a bath is likely to find the story engaging. While adults of all ages will find the detailed, super-creative, yet strangely realistic, pictures to be irresistible.

As usual, Arthur Geisert lets his superb art (not words) tell the story, and what a tale it is!

I can only imagine how many STEM professionals got their start by sharing this book with a wise parent.

[Rivkah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a super cute picture book with great illustrations. You can definitely see a story line via the illustrations and the story is really fun! The illustrator put a lot of effort into the pictures and I think kids will LOVE it.

[Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a weird, quirky, random story. I love imagining this world.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining what-if book. Bonus point for being punny.

[Melissa]

What do mother pigs do after their children spent the day playing in paint, mud and sand? Geisert’s etchings with small swaths of color are wonderfully detailed, showing the many tanks, pipes and chimneys of the paint factory, as well as the pig wash with its large, wooden tub on springs so it will make waves, a kettle with fire underneath to heat the water and the machine that is designed to get the logs to put in the fire. But a washing tub is not the only amenity for the pig mothers, as each child pig is placed in clean clothes and hung on a moving clothes line to dry. Children will love to look at the machinery and the various activities of the pig children, as well as make up stories about the children and their mothers.

[eRin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The little piggies play all day and get very dirty. However will their mothers get them clean? They aren't concerned--the moms have already taken care of the problem--with a huge contraption that gets the job done.

Didn't love it. I guess I like my picture books to have words. The illustrations were pretty interesting and detailed, but overall I just wasn't overly impressed. The machines were amusing, but not overwhelming.

[Lindsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pigs get muddy then go through a complex washing system to get clean. If the system was more complex then it would actually be more interesting, but this book is for the younger set. I think little kids can easily figure out what is going on.

Definitely not the best wordless picture book out there.

[Rosaura Sanders · Rating 5 out of 5]

This adorable wordless book illustrates hogs having fun getting dirty in a muddy pit. Before they return home, the hogs must get cleaned up in a gigantic pool, they get soaped, rinsed, hung to dry on a line, and finally get picked up by their mommies. This is a fun book where kids can use their imagination to create a story that matches the pictures.

[Melissa Dwyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally rated G by Jacqueline Kimmel
The piglets are dirty from playing in the mud all day and now their mothers have to clean them. This picture storybook shows how the mother pigs accomplish this daunting task. Each picture takes the reader from the clean start of the day, throughout the playtime, right through cleanup and back home at the end of the day.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

0-7. A wordless picture book demonstrating the complicated way a mother pigs gets her pigs bathed. They start by playing and getting dirty (rolling in mud, paint, etc)then go through a lengthy machine-like process to get clean. It just didn't appeal to me and I did care for the art style.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably didn't look at it carefully enough but I totally didn't get it. The book is a wordless story told through the illustrations but when all was said and done, it never engaged me enough to be interesting. And like I said, missed the big "punch" at the end.

[Tamsyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids love the inventiveness of this wordless picture book, about pigs at the beach that get into a mess and go through a wildly imaginative "washing machine". I love the pictures of the pigs hanging by clothespins to dry.

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoy the creative illustrations by this illustrator/author. I have a son who wishes I could build all the contraptions he imagines and his contraptions might look very similar to ones depicted in this wordless picture book.

[Felicia Goodwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like this book because it has no words and instead allows children to make inferrences and to think critically about what is going on in the pictures. Everyone's interpretation may be a little different. It allows for creativity and imagination.

[Gps · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wordless picture book, but the illustrations seem to be too small to figure out all that is happening. And the story is not that compelling.

cool cleansing machines, though, for the engineers among the readership.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a huge fan of picture books with no words. I don't know why. But this one was a big hit with my boys, and the illustrations are so complex and clever. We will look for more by this author.

[Cindy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just didn't appeal to me

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wordless picture book with pigs getting dirty and then getting washed. A little weird, but budding engineers will like it

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little weird but I like weird. The illustrations are fantastic.

[Pam Cipkowski · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pigs' bodies are too long--they look too much like humans.

[Chantel]

From 2009 Mock Newbery list

[Molly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the detailing in the pictures, and I think kids will find the whole washing experience pretty funny (maybe this will make my son appreciate his nice calm bath!!).

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's funny.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hands-down favorite. This quirky book overflows with humor and inventiveness.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pigs get dirty, pigs get clean.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

My three-year-old son and I enjoyed this wordless book about pigs getting muddy and dirty, and the elaborate washing machine system that their mothers send them through to clean them up.