Emmett's Pig by Mary Stolz

Emmett's Pig by Mary Stolz. Pictures by Garth Williams. (Out of Print)
An I CAN READ Book


Pages: 63
Ages: 6+
Finished: Jan. 18, 2011
First Published: 1959
Publisher: Harper & Row
Genre: children, easy reader, animal story
Rating: 5/5


First sentence:

{unknown} my copy is missing the first few pages.


Acquired: Purchased at a book/garage sale or thrift store.

Reason for Reading: Ds read aloud as his reader.

Even though we are missing the first few pages of this book it really didn't matter to the story. We could easily tell what had been discussed on the missing pages as it was recapped for us on a further page. This is a darling book! The story is about a boy who just loves pigs and has his whole room decorated with pigs and pig everything. He wants a pig of his own but they live in the city so his parents always so no. Emmett has dreamed everything about owning his own pig, how he'll care for it and even what he'll name it. But then along comes his birthday and his parents have a surprise for him.

I picked up this book because I pick up anything Garth Williams illustrated and I used to read Mary Stolz as a young teen. I thought it was unusual that she had done an I Can Read Book. Well, ds loved the story because it was about a boy obsessed with something and ds, being autistic, is always obsessed with something so he knows how it feels and he laughed and got excited for this boy. I loved the book because it is so darling! The story is just plain good old-fashioned wholesomeness, no gimmicks, no big actions scenes; just a story about a boy and a pig. The illustrations are gorgeous and I just love them. As we were reading I wondered if the book was still in print, seeing as Williams is such a favourite but then came the pictures of the Father smoking a pipe and I knew that if it was still in print it would probably have been re-illustrated. My absolute favourite picture in the book is of the family in the living room and Emmett is asking for the pig. We some mum and dad in chairs. Mum is in a dress with matching necklace, feet in slippers resting on a footstool, reading a book. Dad is right beside her wearing a sweater, shirt and tie, leaning back in an easy chair with pipe clenched firmly in mouth whilst reading the paper. Emmett stands next to them. Lovely nostalgic picture done in peach and green. I see that the book is out of print now but it was re-published back in 2006 as a paperback I Can Read Book and "Garth Williams's original illustrations appear now in full color with help from renowned artist Rosemary Wells." So the lovely 2 tone peachy-pink and green colours of the original are gone and I'd be interested to know if Dad's mouth is empty! Worth adding the original to your collection.