Piggie Pie! Book

When Gritch the Witch wakes up one day, she is simply famished, and only Piggie Pie will do! Unfortunately, she has no little pink piggies on hand. Turning (naturally) to the yellow pages, Gritch discovers a listing for Old MacDonald's Farm, and sets off immediately. But her eager "declaration of war" - she writes "Surrender Piggies!" in the sky with her broom - alerts her porcine prey, who turn out to be a little too clever for her...

Piggie Pie! is the second book by Margie Palatini that I have tried, following upon her Aesopic adaptation, Lousy Rotten Stinkin' Grapes , and it confirms my initial impression that here is a picture-book author whose sense of humor I can really appreciate! With an exuberantly villainous witch - brilliantly depicted in Howard Fine's pastel illustrations - an amusing turning of the tables by some very smart pigs, and a rather sharp ending involving a Wolf, there is much here to entertain the young reader/listener. The refrain - a reworking of the traditional children's song, Old MacDonald - makes this one an excellent read-aloud selection!