Miss Piggy's Guide to Life

by Henry N. Beard

The definitive, ultimate, essential book of advice on EVERYTHING by the definitive, ultimate, essential Miss Piggy: Superstar, Calendar Girl, Muppet Supreme. It reads like a self-help book, but what a difference a Pig makes!

Genres: Humor, Fiction, Self Help, Comedy

113 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Henry N. Beard (born ca. 1945) is an American humorist, one of the founders of the magazine National Lampoon and the author of several best-selling books.

Beard, a great-grandson of Vice President John C. Breckinridge, was born into a well-to-do family and grew up at the Westbury Hotel on East 69th Street in Manhattan. His relationship with his parents was cool, to judge by his quip "I never saw my mother up close."

He attended the Taft School, where he was a leader at the humor magazine, and he decided to become a humorous writer after reading Catch-22.

He then went to Harvard University from which he graduated in 1967 and joined its humor magazine, the Harvard Lampoon, which circulated nationally. Much of the credit for the Lampoon's success during the mid 1960s is given to Beard and Douglas Kenney, who was in the class a year after Beard's. In 1968, Beard and Kenney wrote the successful parody Bored of the Rings.

In 1969, Beard, Kenney and Rob Hoffman became the founding editors of the National Lampoon, which reached a monthly circulation of over 830,000 in 1974 (and the October issue of that year topped a million sales). One of Beard's short stories published there, "The Last Recall", was included in the 1973 Best Detective Stories of the Year. During the early 1970s, Beard was also in the Army Reserve, which he hated.

In 1975 the three founders cashed in on a buy-out agreement for National Lampoon; and Beard left the magazine. After an "unhappy" attempt at screenwriting, he turned to writing humorous books.

Reviews

[Kaia · Rating 5 out of 5]

My manifesto was written more than 30 years ago and told to Henry Beard.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it may be necessary from time to time to give a stupid or misinformed beholder a black eye."

I take this quote quite seriously. Something to bear in mind, folks.

[Amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

My sister mailed this to me to help me "cultivate the perfect coffee table landscape" and I have never felt more seen. A vintage life advice book written by my personal hero? PERFECTION.

this book is hilarious and surprisingly body positive. long live the muppets.

[Sha Sha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I owe everything to this book. I loved it as a 6 year old and I love it now. The humour, the joie de Vivre and the ferocity of Piggy have made me the woman I am today.

[Meg Powers · Rating 5 out of 5]

My friend loaned me this book on the sole condition I write I goodreads review when I finished it. I think some sort of jokey review was expected, and since there are plenty of those already up here, I believe any addition of mine would be unnecessary. I will, however, seriously comment from a designer's point of view. Miss Piggy's costumes in the photo shoots are great-everything she wears is perfectly to scale and drapes on her unconventional figure (JUST LIKE MINE!) beautifully.
It's so refreshing with the coked-out,sushi-lunched body ideals of the 1980s we are given an example of a "REAL" woman. Congratulations to Missy Piggy for being such a brave woman,unafraid to be photographed without a smear of vaseline on the lense!

[Megan Schaller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfection

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and very 80s fabulous.

[Jacob Bornheimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fran Lebowitz à la Miss Piggy. Hilarious throughout, but the real treat is the long series of oddly well composed photographs. What an icon.

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hysterical time capsule. I only got this because I saw one of my friends had read it and I was amazed such a thing existed. My favorite was the four different ways of greeting someone--a stranger gets a hand offered for you to kiss it, an acquaintance is offered a hand to shake, a friend gets a wave, and kermit gets a strangle-hold hug!

[widyarini u · Rating 4 out of 5]

Light and super entertaining reading. Babi delusional yang super bahagia!

[lily rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Miss Piggy for this book of wisdom from the most glamorous woman in Hollywood 💗🐽

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars: I have always loved Miss Piggy and remember reading this as a kid. Now, on an adult, re-read, I still adore it (and her).

We should all take her beauty advice: if you have 'bags under eyes', simply 'fold and put away in pantry'. Miss Piggy's view on taxes? "each year you are buying a few things you didn't think you were buying, like a couple of shrubs for the White House, or a new desk for the Secretary of Big Boats." And everyone knows "the easiest cookbook to use is the Yellow Pages" (assuming you're old enough to know what those were). J'adore!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

If conversation seems to flag, "say something thought provoking like, 'I think the center of the earth is filled with mayonnaise==what do you think?'" You won't find advice like this in most self-help books! Unfortunately, I found the chapters on entertaining (allowing your hosts to entertain toi in their homes, that is) and exercise the weakest, but there's still much advice about manners, fashion, and achieving a glamorous career that you just don't want to miss.

[Mish Jordi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miss Piggy is, as ever, absolutely perfect. Her book provides guidance in all the necessary areas of life, and her wisdom has aged like fine wine. And, of course, she looks utterly fabulous in all her photoshoots.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is completely ridiculous. I love it.

[Matthew Getter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I consistently laughed at the utter ridiculousness of this book before u gave it to self-professed Muppets fan Nina West.

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well here's the tea, now take a f*cking sip babes.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Miss Piggy is an icon, and this was a ton of fun to flip through. There was so much effort put into the different photos, and there's good and funny advice in here, too.

[Zuri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully fun read with enough sprinkles of genuine advice to warrant its name.

[Todd Gano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilariously written - I laughed out loud several times while reading!

[Chrystal Dienst · Rating 3 out of 5]

Library challenge: book published in my birth year. Definitely not a book that would be published now, but was fun to revisit a different world for a few moments.

[Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

From makeup to traveling, entertaining to romance, Miss Piggy offers her own view on these delicate matters. Her typical tone and French pronouns make the sound of her voice reside in the head as reading it. The responses and ignorance (if she asks, I didn't say that) is hilarious as she guides you to living as she does. Remember, the host should always thank vous for making their party a success!

[Erika Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was my favorite book as a child. I have an original copy and it's been read so many times that it's been taped back together in some places where the pages lost their attachment to the binding. It was so well written and so witty. Miss Piggy is truly fabulous in her advice and the pictures give her new dimensions that were not explored during her time on The Muppet Show. A must read for any Piggy fans.

[TheGeekyBlogger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for Fun (Hardcover)
Overall Rating: 5.00

Read It, Rate It Thoughts: Miss Piggy's Guide to Life was my favorite book as an awkward girl who never quite fit in. I bought myself a copy recently (even though I don't have kids) and reread it during #readathonkids hour for Deweys. Totally enjoyed it and the advice is still relevant today :)

Part of my Read It, Rate It, File It, DONE! Reviews

[Thalia Estrada · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so cute and although not very helpful when it comes to guiding me through life, it did in fact give a lot of insite as to a life that should be lived to the fullest and the most fabulous. It took me a while to read but only because I was distracted with other readings. I love this book and can't wait to pick up any others by Moi.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has become clear to me after reading this book that I obviously learned much in life from Miss Piggy! She has affected everything from my sense of fashion, need for appropriate matched luggage, to my ability to be genteel and sweet in language and then suddenly loud and vulgar. A great read!!

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a kid and a friend gave the book to me as a gift when I told her how much I had loved it! It's a cute/funny read. If you're a fan of the muppets,(and really, who isn't?)you'll love this book!

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

You will never find more forgiving advice on fitness, diet or romance, nor sharper insight on elbow-length purple satin gloves.

[Jamie Hardy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Take it from her.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

With advice like "Never powder your tongue" and "Never Wear Yellow Lipstick," I am a huge fan!

[Renee Marie]

a book i read constantly as a child. for some reason, miss piggy is who i always wanted to be. this was a gift from my mother, one of the few things she gave me that i actually enjoyed.