Small Pig

by Arnold Lobel

Another sweet, funny tale from Arnold Lobel, the beloved author and illustrator of the Newbery Honor and Caldecott Honor award-winning Frog and Toad books. Small Pig loves to sit in good, soft mud. When the farmer's wife cleans his pigpen, Small Pig runs away. In the city he finds a new mud puddle—but it is not full of mud at all. And now Small Pig has one big problem! Arnold Lobel's beloved Level 2 I Can Read classic was created for kids who read on their own but still need a little help. The classic Frog and Toad stories by Arnold Lobel have won numerous awards and honors, including a Newbery Honor, a Caldecott Honor, ALA Notable Children’s Book, Fanfare Honor List ( Horn Book ), School Library Journal Best Children’s Book, and Library of Congress Children’s Book.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Humor, Classics, Kids

64 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Arnold Stark Lobel was a popular American author of children's books. Among his most popular books are those of the Frog and Toad series, and Mouse Soup, which won the Garden State Children's Book Award from the New Jersey Library Association.

Reviews

[Jocelyn Haeberle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am in posession of a recording of my 4-year-old self "reading" this book. I don't share it with many people but it is truly hilarious. Just a great beginners book!

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my childhood favorites. Love reading it with my girls, they love it too!

[Aneesa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish she could read to herself already.

ETA: I can't get over the fact that the Farmer's wife is both a main character who drives the plot and also has no name.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little book with many three-letter words my 4-year-old could read, which is a big bonus to me. The story was fun and the pictures helped the kids enjoy the story after I'd read it and they just wanted to look back through the book.

[Chelsea · Rating 3 out of 5]

another adorable story by Arnold Lobel. this story is about a small pig who loves loves soft mud. one day the farmers wife decided to clean out his pen. while she was cleaning small pig ran away to the big city. while he was traveling he was searching for a new soft mud to sit in. did he find the new soft mud that he was searching for? lets find out..

[Nilsson]

I'm filled with commiseration whenever I hear this story. He only wanted a nice mud puddle, and got stuck in cement instead. What a sad tale. I hope he never got into such a situation again.

[Josiah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Renowned for his easy readers in the 1970s and '80s, Arnold Lobel had a number of prior releases, including 1969's Small Pig. A farmer and his wife treat the pig they keep on their farm almost like a son, but one day after cleaning the farmhouse, the Mrs. notices the rest of the farm is a mess, and decides to sanitize all of it. The worst area is the pigpen, where the little pig loves sinking deep in the cool mud. After the farmer's wife cleans every last mud spatter, the pig has nowhere to wallow. He runs away from the farm, planning never to return.

Where can a domestic pig find quality mud? The swamp is crowded with animals who don't want an outsider encroaching. The garbage dump has no mud to speak of. How about the big city? Surely no place is dirtier. Hunting the busy streets for mud, the pig spots a nice soft patch...but is it actual mud, or something likely to get him in trouble? Pigs don't belong in the city, but our porcine hero may never find a home unless people who care intervene. Will he ever be happy again?

Small Pig is an intriguing concept. The farmer's wife means well by cleaning the property, aiming to better the place for animals and people alike, but improvement projects aren't appreciated by everyone. Some have no desire for a clean life at the moment; they want to wallow in the mud that feels so good. You might consider their mess distasteful, but pressuring someone you care about into conforming to your improvement schedule may cause them to leave. Not everyone is on the same page at the same time, and you have to leave room for others to follow their own timetable.

I rate Small Pig two and a half stars, but I'm persuaded to round that upward; the art style and writing aren't as evolved as Arnold Lobel's later work, but it's a deeper book than I perceived at first blush.

[Jon Hewelt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Small Pig is about a pig who is small. He loves nothing more than to sink down in good, soft mud. But when the farmer's wife cleans up his mud puddle, the pig must go out into the world to find a place that is messy enough for him. Will he find his mud? What will the farmer and his wife do when they find that he's gone?

Small Pig is a simple story told simply. I have always loved the work of Arnold Lobel, but only as I've gotten older have I been able to appreciate the elegance with which he weaves a tale. The ending of Small Pig is easy enough to spot from the beginning, but by the way it's told, one doesn't care.

Reading this at 26, Small Pig still makes me smile. Read it alone, or to someone you love. Either way, check it out.

[Mlie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeah, ik heb het drietal van Arnold Lobel compleet.
Kikker en Pad blijven mijn favoriet, maar deze was ook erg leuk. Vooral de verhalen over het peuterbig en zijn familie. Zijn moeder die uit pure uitputting besluit een dag in een boom te gaan zitten was het hoogtepunt ':D Een ♥ voor de humor.

[Nupur · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will go down in my personal history as the first "real" book that Lila read to me fluently, all by herself. May 8, 2018.

[Cam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for beginner readers. My kindergartener was able to read this book with little assistance. It’s about a pig who lives on a farm that runs away because he wants to be dirty.

[Kateřina Valová · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Všude dobře, doma nejlíp" v Lobelově neotřelém podání. Nebo možná o tom, že nemá smysl hledat jinde trávu zelenější? Každopádně je to opět vtipné, čtivé, poučné, poutavé, klasický Lobel.

[Mathew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Small pig loves nothing more than to soak in the mud outside his pen so when the farmer's wife decides to clean it all up, there's nothing left for pig to do but set off looking for a muddy patchy in a new place.

One of Lobel's early I Can Read books simply shames the decodable texts that come out these days. Full of warmth and wit; it's a little beauty.

[Pamela Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. I listened to the audiobook. One can truly experience the sensory effects through this reading. Touch & smell are such powerful senses. The "feel" of the fresh clean environment, the squishiness of mud, and the toughness of cement are so well-described. One can sense the deep love and caring emotions of the characters: farmer & his wife, the small pig & environment, community & culture. Family values are so important.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cute story written in 1969. The farmer's wife cleans the mud puddle in the pigpen since she thinks is the dirtiest spot in the whole farm. Small pig is angry with her and decides to run away. Looking for a new mud puddle he arrives to the city, and ends into trouble... Thankfully those who care for him will be

Small pig learns that he is welcome in the farm, that is his home too. The farmer and his wife missed the pig they think is the best pig in the world. They promised to be more tolerant.

This story is good as a trigger to talk about how sometimes it could be differences between persons that love each other, and how is possible to go over them. A little patience and tolerance could be the solution.

The illustrations (made by the author too) are simple (mostly in back, yellow, green and blue) but nice. Some of them are pretty funny. They don't distract the reader.

This is a transitional book. It is not divided in chapters but it has page numbers.

Check out more children's book reviews in my Reviews in Chalk Blog!

[Whisperwind · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked that this book was about a pig that used to have a lot of soft mud to sink into. But when the farmer's wife cleaned up everything on the farm she even took the mud away. Then in the night time the pig ran away. First he went to a pond mud and then he went to a city and sank into concrete, which he thought was mud. That was hilarious.

[Sigrid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verhalenbundel voorzien van vele mooie tekeningen. Er is echt ruimte gemaakt voor de tekeningen en daarom zit er hier en daar ook een witte bladzijde. Leuke verhalen. Ik vind wel de langere (eerste 2) verhalen mooier dan de laatste kortere verhalen. Leuk om voor te lezen. Zal jongere kinderen zeker aanspreken.

(21e boek Boekenbingo 2017)

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know I read this as a kid. It's about a couple and their pet pig, the first of whom learn about being overzealous in their cleaning and the second of whom learns that the grass isn't always greener elsewhere. Sweet, gentle, and funny, with a big heart.

[Eireanne]

On the suggested summer reading list for students.

[MK · Rating 5 out of 5]

one of my favorite childhood books

[Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

very touching. you should read it.

[Elizabeth S · Rating 3 out of 5]

More fun from the author of the famous Frog and Toad series. I enjoyed how Lobel described Small Pig enjoying the mud. Almost makes you want to be a pig so you can enjoy mud like that as well.

[Cosette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous read aloud

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story about a pig trying to find some mud after his mud was washed away.

[Samira · Rating 4 out of 5]

A childhood favorite.

[Edward Sojuwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another classic from the Oink-pen of Arnold Lobel, who gave us the Frog and Toad series. I say OINK cos the very title is "Small Pig" and is about what the title says: a small pig. Small Pig doesn't care for the too-clean environs of his family farm. So he runs away to the city in search of better mud areas to splash in. Only this is The City, where the mud pool Small Pig finds on the sidewalks is not mud at all, but wet cement! Boy! Talk about the little piggy shoulda stayed home! Can his farm family find the piggy and free him from the city by.... actually freeing him from the city sidewalks? It's a lotta fun, and recommended for fans of kid's books involving piggys like Babe and Charlotte's Web. That'll do for now, Mr Lobel. That'll do for now.
Four stars
Small Pig In The City!!!!

[Cassia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a favorite book of mine when I was a tiny girl, but I forgot about it until I started collecting Arnold Lobel books for my three year old son. Now, as an adult, I think I enjoy its silliness, cleverness, and diverse range of emotions and relationships the same if not more than I did-- the sign of a truly great children's book--layers for the years. The silly repetition of sinking into the mud keeps us turning the pages and longing with little piggy to find what makes him whole-- which turns out to be more than just his daily delights. My three year old son insists that I read this entire book to him multiple times a day. Which we do, and he giggles at the swamp scene every single time.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't remember why I added this to my to-read list, but I'm glad I did, because I love the small pig. I vaguely remember this book from my childhood, and that makes me wonder if Small Pig could have inspired my obsession with mud puddles as a kid?

After reading this, I wanted to know more about author and illustrator Arnold Lobel. I read some biographical information about him, and it sounds like he dealt with a lot before dying in his 50s. I am impressed that even with such a complex life, he was able to write so many simple, wonderful stories.

[Darby · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Small Pig is about Small Pig's adventures after running away from home because the farmer's wife has cleaned Small Pigs pig pen. On this adventure Small pig makes it all the way to the big city, where he gets stuck in some concrete that Small Pig mistakes for mud. This draws a crowd and in that crowd is Small Pig's owners, who then take Small Pig home where they reunite and promise to never clean Small Pigs mud again. This book is great funny story, with great illustrations. I would recommend this book to early reader in about 1st grade.

[Aireli reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theres a pig and he ran away from his family. Because loves big puddles of mud so he ran away and got in a puddle but thete were already other angry animals there. Then he ran away because they bit him. So he went to the garbage dump. He was looking for mud but found none. And he went further away and went to where roads were being made and sunk down into a puddle of concrete. Then after that he was stuck. Then a bunch of people came to see him. And the farmer came and they got him out.