Pigs Aplenty, Pigs Galore! by David McPhail

Dutton's Children's Books, New York, 1993.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 0-525-45079-3.

The hilarious surprise invasion of a legion of pigs overwhelms an unsuspecting homeowner. McPhail creates a delightfully oddball assortment of fanciful swine:

"Black pigs, white pigs,
Brown and pink pigs,
Making-oatmeal-
in-the-sink pigs."

"Pigs in tutus,
Pigs in kilts,
Pigs on skateboards,
Pigs on stilts."

A party ensues complete with a piggy band and refreshment in the form of a gigantic stack of pizzas, leaving the beleaguered gentleman with a disaster area and and an enormous bill. Suddenly he snaps, demanding that the swine vacate the premises forthwith.  The penitent pigs agree to undertake a massive cleaning effort, and exhausted by their exertions, plop into bed to dream:

"Of pigs and pigs
And pigs some more--
Of pigs aplenty,
Pigs galore!"

Great fun to read aloud dramatically at a pig-themed storytime.

Phonological awareness is enhanced through the simple rhyming text. Narrative skills are developed in retelling the progression of events. Dialogic conversation around the variously themed pig costumes may assist in enlarging vocabulary.

Pig-Boy: A Trickster Tale from Hawai'i by Gerald McDermott

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, 2009.
Hardcover edition, 32 pages, ISBN 978-0152165901.
In the source notes for this tale, McDermott details the history of the mythological character from which the Pig-Boy is drawn, the oral tradition from which it sprang, and the first transcriptions and publications in the Hawaiian language in the mid to late nineteenth century. He also acknowledges the expertise of scholars who advised him in researching and re-telling the story.

I am familiar with McDermott’s previous trickster characters, Zomo the Rabbit, Coyote, and Raven, but had not yet encountered this charming, insatiable swine. Pig-Boy’s adventures unfold in the rhythms of transcribed speech, following him through hunger-driven theft of the king’s chickens, a frightening encounter with the goddess Pele near her volcano, and capture by the king’s men, all of which he manages to thwart with clever shape-changes.

Pig-Boy is portrayed in purple, which immediately sets him apart from “real” pigs, and prepares the reader for some magical doings to come. The illustrations exhibit simply-detailed foregrounds colorfully drawn against soothing green backgrounds. He is not depicted as a wise-cracking, fiendishly clever, wily villain or clown as are other trickster characters such as Anansi or Coyote. This endearing piglet begins and ends the story sweetly enfolded in his beautiful, loving, Hawaiian grandmother’s arms, making it a good introductory trickster tale for 2-3 year-olds who may as yet be unable to decipher complexities of humor or trickery.