Published by Nosy Crow £5.99 Paperback
Text by Caryl Hart, illustations by Sarah Warburton
Synopsis from Nosy Crow:
In this first story, troublesome twosome Nell and Freddie go on a school trip to a farm, where they pet the animals and learn about how they live, and Freddie smuggles a piglet out in his backpack. He thinks he’s saving it from becoming sausages. So Nell keeps it in her bedroom, gives it a bath and gets it involved in bringing a local crime wave to an end (with the help of her hilariously teenaged big brother, Lucas). Then they all go home for tea!
Take a look inside here
So what did I think?
This first book in a new series for readers aged 5-8 will keep you entertained from cover to cover. We are welcomed to the book with the fabulously cheeky Kevin the piglet on the cover, followed by a map of The Invincibles’ World, giving us a taste of the jolly japes to come.
From the opening line,”It wasn’t really my fault”, Caryl Hart captures the voice of Nell Henry with warmth and a sharp wit. Nell’s world seems very familiar and convincing, and the generous proportion of illustrations add their own powerful narrative, and perfectly match the lively pace of the story. The language is fun and familiar, and the fantastic illustrations will help newly independent readers along with their humour and detail.
I love the chapter titles, such as “Told You You’d Like It” and “Poor Defenceless Old Lady”. And what I particularly admire is the funny details of family life (giving dead arms, an older brother looking at his spots in the mirror and Dad saying the most embarrassing things in front of Nell’s friend, Freddie Spoon).
The Piglet Pickle neatly captures the tension between siblings and friendships, and the logic of kids versus the logic of adults. It’s full of action and fun, and delightfully illustrated. I will definitely be reading the others in the series.
I think you’ll love this if you like the Little Gems books, Alex T. Smith’s Claude books or the Charlie series by Hilary McKay.
Happy Reading!
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