Here's A Happy Pig - Colin Hawkins, Jacqui Hawkins > Reviews > As Happy As A Pig In Muck!

Author's product rating:   

Would you listen to it again?	Yes
Story	Satisfactory
Characters	Satisfactory
Listenability	Pretty compelling but not addictive

Advantages:	An interactive book
Disadvantages:	Very short

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

This is a great interactive book for very young children, from about 18 months upwards or even younger depending on ability.

~ Colin and Jacqui Hawkins ~

This talented married couple began writing and illustrating books after reading books to their young children.

After more than twenty years, the pair have created an extensive listof children's books which are recognised world wide with sales in excess of 3 million.

I have listed some of the other books by the Hawkins:

• Busy ABC
• The Elephant
• Farmyard Sounds
• Here's a Happy Kitten
• Whose House?
• Here's a Happy Puppy

~ Here's a Happy Pig ~

This book is great to play with as well as fun to read and look at.

Initially I thought that this book would be all about a pig but I was wrong.

It introduces different animals: a dog, a kitten, a rabbit and a spider. The only reference to a pig is on the front cover.

The beauty of the book is that there are little circles cut out in strategic places so that children can interact, e.g.

'Here's a yappy dog wagging his tail'. The hole is placed at the dog's bottom region so that children can stick their finger through and pretend that they are the tail of the dog.

'Here's a funny rabbit waggling her ears'. Two holes are at the top of the rabbit's head so once again children can wiggle their fingers through the holes as if they are the ears!

~ Style, Format & Educational Value ~

This is a very short book, only 4 double pages. I think that it could have been a little longer but when considering the age group that it is intended for perhaps the length is acceptable as concentration spans are a little more limited at this age.

The text is very simple and it has speech bubbles coming from each of the animals introduced, I just wish they had put 'woof, woof' for the dog instead of 'yap, yap!'

There is also a funny little minibeast on each page, half caterpillar, half butterfly, i.e. a caterpillar with wings. This has speech bubbles relating to each of the animals introduced, saying things like: " What a pretty kitty" and "What a funny bunny!"

This book is good for introducing animals to very young children and is great for fine motor skills and hand / eye coordination as they stick their fingers through the holes.

~ Illustrations ~

These are very simple, bright and bold, capturing the attention of young eyes.

~ Price ~

My boardbook ISBN: 0-7445-0905-X was £2.99 but it's quite old and it retails at £3.50 nowadays.

Check out used and new copies at amazon.co.uk from as little as 44p.

This book is also available in hardcover format.

~ Verdict ~

A good interactive book for very young children. It's so short that it holds their attention but doesn't really appeal to the more sophisticated ages of 3+!

The only thing that puzzles me is the title which suggests that it's all about a happy pig, not so!!