Wibbly Pig and the Tooky by Mick Inkpen
| Wibbly Pig and the Tooky by Mick Inkpen | |
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| Category: For Sharing | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: Funny and silly and my favourite Wibbly Pig story ever! | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: September 2013 |
| Publisher: Hodder Children's Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1444912234 | |
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I had a feeling, when I saw the cover of this book, that I was going to enjoy it. I wasn't disappointed. Something really tickled me as I read this book, and I have since flicked through it again, by myself, without the kids! So that's usually a good sign of a good children's picture book. Especially if I now sneak it upstairs onto my picture book bookshelf where I keep all my personal favourites from our ridiculously large collection and I try to keep sticky fingers off them and keep them for special reading times together!
So, Big Pig's sister, and her friend, have been to the zoo. They come round to show Wibbly Pig what they got there. Big Pig's sister's friend bought a cuddly koala at the gift shop and she decides to call him Kooky. Big Pig's sister then opens up her rucksack to reveal that she got a 'Tooky'. Wibbly Pig is amazed! It looks almost like a real bird. He asks how she makes him squawk, and where his batteries go, before Big Pig's sister reveals that Tooky is actually a real Toucan.
Big Pig's sister's friend is worried - you're not supposed to bring animals home from the zoo! But Big Pig's sister says that Tooky wanted to come home with her. Unfortunately the pigs then run into some trouble with Tooky, who firstly bites Big Pig's sister on the nose, and then flies around and around the room. Big Pig's sister no longer wants Tooky, so they decide to take him back to the zoo. In order to get him back there, on the bus, they have to give him a disguise, and so Tooky goes back dressed in a furry hat, a pair of glasses and a ribbon tied around his beak to keep him quiet! Back at the zoo, Big Pig's sister runs off leaving Wibbly and Big Pig's sister's friend to sort out poor Tooky. It's only as they're leaving that Big Pig's sister comes running up, with her bag smelling strangely fishy and who is that peering our of the top of her bag?!
I think what really makes this story is the way it is written. The long, convoluted references to Big Pig's sister and Big Pig's sister's friend, rather than giving them their own names, mimic the way little children often end up referring to people they know. And the way the pig's speak is much the same as little children, very direct and honest! The bit that had me laughing out loud was when they dress Tooky up in a disguise! His little face, peering through his glasses, is brilliant! The illustrations, as always with Mick Inkpen, beautifully compliment the story, with sweet little pigs and funny old Toucan!
I really, really liked this book. It's a lot of fun to read and it withstands re-reading well. It's funny and silly and just very enjoyable all round. Definitely recommended!
For more toucan trouble you might enjoy The Toucan Brothers by Tor Freeman or Toucan Can by Juliette MacIver and Sarah Davis
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You can read more book reviews or buy Wibbly Pig and the Tooky by Mick Inkpen at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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