Princess and the Swineheard

Princess and the Swineheard
by
Hans Christian Andersen
Illustrated by Palle Bregnhoi
Children's fiction, ages 5-9.

Somewhere I saw a reference to this H. C. Andersen tale and I did not recall this story, so I checked out the one version that our library had in storage (copyright 1971).
The illustrations are woodcuts. The text is awkwardly translated, making it tricky for my 7 year old "test reader" to read out loud. At one point, some court ladies speak in French, which, again, was confusing for the 7 year old.
Here is the plot: A stuck up princess refuses the extravagant gifts of a suitor prince, so he disguises himself as a pig tender and sets about to charm her. She proves herself to be, indeed, snobby.
The tale is amusing as the pig boy gets the princess to kiss him, but I would recommend a differently translated and illustrated version.

Adventures of Max and Pinky: Superheroes

Adventures of Max and Pinky: Superheroes
by
Maxwell Eaton, III
children's fiction
ages 3-6
or adults can read it as a funny comic strip

Today Max the boy is pretending he is a superhero. His sidekick stuffed pig, Pinky, wants to be one, too, but Max wants Pinky to be a sidekick. Pinky doesn't appreciate being demoted to sidekick, but the sidekick comes through in the end.
If you have not read any Max and Pinky, give these funny guys a try. I wonder if they will base a children's television series on this? They certainly could.

Mystery: The Adventures of Max and Pinky

Mystery: The Adventures of Max and Pinky
by
Maxwell Eaton III
children's fiction
ages 3-7

That Maxwell Eaton! He's a laugh-riot! Max, a boy, and Pinky, his porcine companion, paint a barn. Somehow the barn is repainted in the middle of the night. What happened? Hilarity ensues as Max investigates the mysterious barn painting. Why had I not heard of this goofy series before? If you liked the Far Side, then this is a book to read to your children.

Three Little Pigs and the Three Billy Goats Gruff

Rabbit Ears Presents
Three Little Pigs and the Three Billy Goats Gruff
told by
Holly Hunter
written by Joseph Jacobs and P. C. Asbjornsen
music by
Art Lande
audiobook/radio drama
ages 5-adult
I say ages 5 - adult because I have found that children younger than that generally do not listen to books on tape, but any given child may be an exception. I say adults may listen to it as well, because I am an adult and I enjoy a good short story/fable instead of static-y music when on a car ride.
Rabbit Ears Radio was established in 1985 to have veteran actors read timeless stories in the classic storytelling tradition, accompanied by music by veteran musicians. I thought that maybe Rabbit Ears Radio had disappeared, but their website says that they restructured in the 1990's and are still around. This explains why I used to hear it on the radio, but now I do not. Once they had a contract with Public Radio International, but that has expired.
http://www.rabbitears.com/
This CD contains two stories and about 11 tracks of background music and music inspired by the tales. Holly Hunter narrates and does all the voices on two classic tales - 3 little pigs, and Billy goats gruff. There is some tall tale telling and some good similes and metaphors - "as far as molasses is from turpentine" and such phrases. Hunter's Southern voice gives these a Georgia feel and a few times I wasn't sure what she said because she drops some letters in her narration. I guess I am unaccustomed to listening to such a deep Southern accent. The first words of the "Three Litttle Pigs" story were "Too poor to feed them". I had to listen to this three times before I could tell what she was saying at the beginning. The good news is that Hunter has developed a number of accents for her pigs and her goats and her trolls living under the bridge. These accents included cockney, valley girl and surfer dude. These were easier to understand and added to the story. I especially liked the middle billy goat's surfer dude accent. "Chill, wolf!"
As to the stories themselves, the billy goat story was pretty much as I remembered it. The three little pigs was longer and takes a few turns. [SPOILER]
One of my listeners said "That's not right. The wolf doesn't eat the pig". In this version the wolf does eat 2 out of 3 pigs.
Based on this CD I am not a Hunter fan, but I will look for more Rabbit Ears books on CD from my library for future car rides since they use a wide variety of performers.

Adventures of Max and Pinky: Best Buds

Adventures of Max and Pinky: Best Buds
by
Maxwell Eaton, III
children's fiction
ages 3-7
This is a cartoon book about a boy (Max) and his best friend, a pig (Pinky). I think that Pinky is supposed to be Max's stuffed animal that he uses for pretending (like Christopher Robin and Pooh) but I am not certain. Max is a bald round-headed kid that looks a bit like Charlie Brown. Whatever the author's intentions, this book exhibits light-hearted slapstick little-kid humor.
In the front of the book it says "the illustrations in this book were created using black pen-and-ink with digital coloring". I have seen other books illustrated this way, but none explained it like this one did.
This is not necessarily an educational book, but the author does do things like use color words (red barn, deep blue pond) and repetition (here, there, up, down). English teachers out there should note that he uses the time-honored device of using the same phrase at the beginning and end of the book for opening and closure.
I will definitely be reading more Max and Pinky books because they were fun for me and my 5 and 6 year old audience. I would not be surprised if Nickelodeon, PBS, Dic, or another company picked this up for a children's television series.

Not a Stick

Not a Stick
by
Antoinette Portis
Ages 2-5.

This is a simple yet delightful book that shows the stick figure main character pig pretending that a stick is all kinds of things - a sword, a hobby horse, and more. Kids don't need all kinds of toys - just give them sticks!
In case you hadn't heard, the stick made it into the Toy Hall of Fame as a classic toy. I don't know if the author wrote this book inspired by the press surrounding this event or if it happened to come out at about the same time. All hail the STICK!
This book was on a reading list that the park system handed out.
The cover says that this is a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, but maybe they meant that the author won for a different book.
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/awardsgrants/bookmedia/geiselaward/index.cfm
I see that the author also has a book called "Not a Box". I am assuming that the plot is similar.

Here is what the Museum of Play has to say about sticks:

http://www.museumofplay.org/nthof/toys/index.php?toy=stick

Stick

The stick may be the world’s oldest toy. Animals play with sticks, and we use them to play fetch with our dogs. Children find sticks an endless source of make-believe fun. Sticks can turn into swords, magic wands, majorette batons, fishing poles, and light sabers. When children pretend with sticks, they cultivate their creativity and develop their imagination. They explore as they search outdoors for just the right one. Children build with sticks, bat balls with them, and walk with them. They are the original building blocks for creative play. Sticks also promote free play—the freedom to invent and discover. They encourage playing outside instead of inside. Sticks are all around us; they are natural and free. And playing with sticks isn’t just for children and animals. Adult artists, crafters, decorators, and architects all make use of sticks in sculptures, wreaths, furniture, and building design. Few adults or children can resist simple play with sticks—from drawing in the sand on the beach, to building a campfire and then toasting marshmallows. Sticks are not only possibly the oldest toy, they’re possibly the best!