Piggybook

Illus. in full color. "Mr. Piggott and his sons are a male chauvinist lot who, outside of yelling for their dinner, don't exercise themselves much around the house. When Mrs. Piggott finally tires of the endless chores that sandwich her workday, she leaves the menfolk on their own, with a note saying, 'You are pigs.' With the cooking and housework untended, they soon turn genuinely porcine, a transformation Browne foreshadows with pig faces on the wallpaper, vases, fireplace, phone. As in most of Browne's art, there is more than a touch of irony and visual humor here. Fun to read aloud."--Bulletin, Center for Children's Books.  Anthony Browne is rightly regarded as one of the world's leading picturebook creators.  He lives in England with his wife and two children.  He has won awards in many countries, including the Kate Greenaway Medal of England for GORILLA and ZOO,  and the Kurt Maschler Award of Germany for GORILLA.  His inspiration for GORILLA came from a combination of things -- a greeting card he'd designed of a huge macho gorilla holding a teddy bear, a very lonely boy he knew whose father lived in New Zealand, his own fascination with gorillas.  The behavior of a real family provided the idea for PIGGYBOOK (not his own, however!)  When the book was completed, he presented the family with a copy, without comment.  But they didn't see any relevance to themselves!