Reviews for Ginger and Petunia

The average rating for Ginger and Petunia based on 2 reviews is 2.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2020-02-09 00:00:00 Raymond Worley When accomplished pianist and fashionable lady-about-town Virginia Vincent Folsum - known to her friends as Ginger - must leave town, she entrusts her beloved porcine companion, Petunia, to the care of a house-sitter. But a last minute cancellation leaves Petunia on her own, with little food in the house, and no one to watch over her. Fortunately, she's been observing Ginger for years, and knows how to be a lady - stepping into her human's shoes with ease, and proving her maxim that "You are what you wear..." Like many of her other picture-books, Patricia Polacco's Ginger and Petunia is inspired by real-life people (and animals!) known to the author. Unfortunately, unlike some of these other biographical (and autobiographical) picture-books, I just wasn't won over by this one - perhaps because of its fantasy element, in which Petunia successfully impersonates Ginger? There's nothing really wrong with it - I can imagine that some readers will find it amusing, and it's got Polacco's trademark artwork, with its bold colors and sense of energetic motion - but something just didn't work for me. I think perhaps I just prefer Polacco's tragedies...

Review # 2 was written on 2009-11-20 00:00:00 Craig Devrell This is a very amusing story, even though I thought the ending was a bit weak. It's the story of a pet pig who takes over for her person when her person, a music teacher who loves her elegant clothes, goes away and the house/pig sitter doesn't show up. The language used is lilting and lovely. The illustrations are colorful and fun. The humor is droll, and the book is entertaining. There were several pages where I felt gleeful as I read. Perhaps Petunia the pig should have gotten top billing in the title of this book. This author uses a lot of real life events for her books. Apparently, she really knows a Ginger with a pet pig named Petunia, but the real life Petunia has never worn Ginger's clothes and impersonated her.