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Summary
Summary
This charming picture book celebrates all our differences while questioning the idea that there is only one way to be "normal."
Pip is a normal pig who does normal stuff: cooking, painting, and dreaming of what she'll be when she grows up.
But one day a new pig comes to school and starts pointing out all the ways in which Pip is different. Suddenly she doesn't like any of the same things she used to...the things that made her Pip.
A wonderful springboard for conversations with children, at home and in the classroom, about diversity and difference.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1--What's normal to one pig isn't normal to all. That's what Pip learns when a new classmate meanly points out her differences. These exchanges end up bothering her quite a bit, because it shakes up her innocent understanding of the world. Noticing behavioral changes in her daughter, the little pig's mom decides that it's time for a lesson. Pip's view, which was based in a fairly homogeneous community, suddenly expands. In the city, there are pigs speaking various languages, pigs of all shapes and colors, and pigs doing many jobs. The trip raises the spotted porker's self-esteem so much, that she is able to defend her choices from then on. With animal designs, ink line art, and watercolors similar to Betsy Lewin's (illustrator of Click, Clack, Moo…), Steele's illustrations also have a mirthful charm. Her style is quite versatile too; when dealing with the heavier subject matter, she clearly expresses the character's complicated feelings through the art, in conjunction with the candid text. Most children will easily connect with Pip's situation, and all would benefit by learning from her example. VERDICT For those that are just getting exposed to the wider world, whether in school or elsewhere, Steele's impressive authorial debut has a valuable message about individuality and acceptance.--Rachel Forbes, Oakville Public Library, Ont.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Pip, the only spotted pig in her class, is "a normal pig who did normal stuff." But Pip feels unmoored and vulnerable when a new pig at school points to her lunch of greens and dried seaweed and bellows, "Eww!! What are you eating?! It stinks!!" When a pig asks if Pip's mom, who is dark gray, is her babysitter, it's too much ("Why can't you make me a normal lunch?!" she sobs at home). Instead of rushing in to fix things for Pip, her parents take her to the city for the first time, where she sees many different kinds of pigs, none of whom seems to feel that who they are (or what they eat) makes them strange. In her solo debut, Steele (Noodlephant) conveys how quickly a kid's world can unravel, but she also shows how powerful and comforting a wider perspective can be. The watercolor-and-ink cartooning combines a keen eye for domestic and school dynamics with a sweet goofiness that pulls readers through the story, until Pip emerges at the end a wiser and stronger pig. Ages 4-8. Agent: Erica Rand Silverman, Stimola Literary Studio. (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Pip, the only spotted pig in a classroom of solid pink pigs, "started to feel different" when a new classmate asks if her mom, a black pig, is Pip's babysitter. Steele's debut picture book, celebrating a piglet's developing sense of self, is illustrated with bold watercolor and ink illustrations. The story is as successful as it is welcome. (c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Just what is "normal"?"Pip was a normal pig who did normal stuff." Readers will note that she has spots and her all-pink classmates don't and that one of her parents is gray and the other is pink. She thinks she's as normal as they come until a new classmate tells her that her lunch "stinks." Pip's suddenly aware that she's not the same as others in her class. Then another pig asks if her mother, who is gray, is her "babysitter." When she demands a "normal lunch," her mother suggests a trip into the city. At the museum, Pip hears a bunch of different languages, and at the playground, every pig looks different. When Pip remarks on the "weird" food at a food truck, a striped pig says, "Maybe it's weird for you, but not for me. I like it." Bolstered, when her new classmate again jeers at her "weird lunch" back at school, Pip defiantly repeats what she heard in the city, then offers everyone a tasteand her classmates like it. Pip feels "pretty normal" after that. Debut author/illustrator Steele communicates her message that "normal" is in the eye of the beholder without a whiff of preachiness. Her cartoon pigs, done in watercolor with assured, black outlines, are appealing, and any child who feels they stand out in any way will identify and feel empowered.Delightful and important. (Picture book. 2-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Pip is a totally normal pig. She paints and cooks and plays and does normal pig things, until one day a new pig at school makes fun of Pip's lunch. Suddenly Pip becomes aware of all the ways she's different, and she doesn't like it. When the family goes on a trip to the city, however, everyone is different languages, skin markings and colors, food preferences and it's wonderful. On Monday at school, when the new pig bullies again, Pip is proud to stand by her lunch and even offers to share it. For an author-illustrator debut, this is a standout. The story line has excellent diversity messaging about self-acceptance, embracing your differences, and appreciating the variety around you, and the artwork is absolutely hysterical. The pleasure of seeing a bucktoothed pig listening to music through headphones on a bus while other pigs play cat's cradle and fortune-teller is palpable. Although her style is quirky utilizing a deliberate off-kilter sloppiness that results in chuckle after chuckle it reveals a terrific range of complex emotions, from misdirected anger to righteous defiance. And if you thought your life was complete without seeing a pig hang rapturously upside down on a jungle gym or play tuba in a marching band, you were just plain wrong. Pair with Andrea Zuill's Sweety (2019) for another celebration of being unique.--Becca Worthington Copyright 2019 Booklist