Saturday, April 29, 2023

What If, Pig?


 
What If, Pig?
A Pig, A Mouse and a Whole Wobble of Worries
by Linzie Hunter
Harper Collins
2021
 
 
I don't think he's on the show anymore, but growing up, one of my favorite Sesame Street monsters was Telly, because he was very anxious, but the others were still friends with him, and things generally looked out okay. As an anxious kid myself, it was nice to see a character who had the same kinds of feelings I did, and who didn't (as I feared I would) end up totally alone and friendless because of his negative emotions.
 
Pig from What If, Pig? is a bit like Telly. We see Pig from the perspective of his friend Mouse. Pig is a good friend, but he also worries a lot, and his worries take the form of 'what if?' questions.
 
So when Pig plans to throw a party and invite lots of others, he gets anxious. What if no one comes? What if everyone comes but has a terrible time? Pig gets so worried, he wants to cancel the party. Mouse appears to agree, and encourages Pig to take a nap and then go for a walk together. And then we see that Mouse and everyone else have turned Pig's party into a surprise party for Pig. We also see thst everyone has their own worries, but they still feel better spending time with their friends.
 
Linzie Hunter's art is simple and has a hand-drawn quality. I've heard that some kid's book illustrators try to make characters thst kids will be able to re-draw pretty easily if they want to, and these certainly fit that criteria. And like Telly, Pig is allowed to feel and voice his worries, but he still has friends, and things work out pretty okay.

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