Hello!Īlso, I wonder, who is the audience supposed to be for this book? The adult reader, I suspect. Realistically speaking, this statement would come from a HUMAN ADULT. Huh? Author, you're breaking the third wall in this fictional world:Įither a pig is a pseudo human child or else the pig is a pig. *' There's nothing like eating vegetables from your own garden'? * Since when do pigs (or children) say, 'I've always wanted' ANYTHING? * 'Always' is a pretty remote concept for kids. Real children dream, off and on, throughout their waking hours. * Since when do pigs (or children) do something they have dreamed about for a long-long time? Not for the first time when reviewing books in this series, I wonder: Okay, the premise of this story is that Toot and Puddle 'are planting the dream garden they've always wanted.' This will have high appeal for young readers.

The story made me laugh, but as a former gardener, it would be hard to give up that yummy produce just to have some excitement in their lives. After a few days have gone by, the pigs decide to plant more spinach just for the interloper because they've missed all the excitement of his presence in their garden. But it completely ignores the three friends and just keeps eating. The text and illustrations effectively build the suspense as the animal is finally revealed. The intruder seems to have ignored their KEEP OUT signs too so they decide to keep watch and catch the beast in the act of stealing their veggies. Even a fence fails to keep the thief away. But to their dismay, something has been nibbling at the lettuce and the spinach, which quickly dwindles after several nighttime raids. But even after bits of green sprout, they know they will have to be patient while waiting for the plants to be harvested. With help from Cousin Opal, Puddle's relative, they carefully choose what they want in that growing space, and as is the case for all gardeners, they keep a watchful eye on the soil to see when everything will come up.

Just like so many gardeners, the friends plant their garden in late Spring. It's hard for youngsters to resist Toot and Puddle, two piglets that have starred in previous books by this author/illustrator.

Toot and puddle books in order