This book is part of the ‘Nature Storybooks’ series produced by Walker Books. This non-fiction series attempts to teach young children about the lives of animals through the eyes of just one animal in that species. In ‘All Pigs are Beautiful’ Dick King-Smith introduces young readers to the world of the pig.

Review The fact that Dick King-Smith actually owns pigs makes the text in the book rather special. He uses a Large White pig that he owns called Monty to tell the reader more about the fascinating world of pigs. What shines right through this book from the start to the finish is the obvious passion that Dick King-Smith has for pigs. This makes the book a useful addition to any library because every teacher or librarian will know that children are far more likely to become interested in something if they detect that adults are sharing not just information about a subject but their love of that subject too.

The information in the book is pitched at just the right level for the intended readership. Short facts about pigs break up the main narrative. An accompanying CD, narrated by Stephen Tomkinson, has extra information for those children who want to learn more.

 I was particularly happy to see that all of the different breeds of pig are dealt with as well. It is gratifying to see that Dick King-Smith neither anthropomorphises pigs nor does he sentimentalise them. Simply because pigs enjoy contact with humans does not make them human in any sense but that does not stop them sharing some characteristics with humans. As the author says “pigs, like people, aren’t always sunny and good-tempered”. In this Year of Food and Farming, when children should be learning more about the links between the food that we produce and the food that we consume, then this book should be available in the libraries of every primary school.

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2008-08-19