You’ve heard it on the playground, in the classroom, on playdates, in the lunchroom: “You’re so weird.” The statements that poke fun at another kid who has the nerve to do or be something different. Enter Pip, A NORMAL PIG.
Despite the assertion that we’ll be reading a book about a “normal” pig, we can guess from the cover that Pip’s the “odd pig out” in a classroom of fairly homogenous pigs.
Then inside the cover, we are treated to a spread that gives us a sense of her home life, all of which looks fairly “normal.”
Illustrations/Text ⓒ K-Fai Steele
You gotta love those baby photos and her terror-filled face at the amusement park.
We see Pip at school doing “normal” things among those homogenous pigs.
Illustrations/text ⓒ K-Fai Steele
And a string of “normal” things that “normal” pigs do, including all the “normal” dreams of what she wants to be when she grows up.
Illustrations/text ⓒ K-Fai Steele
But soon her world darkens. A new pig comes to school and starts pointing a hoof at Pip’s “weirdness.” In the lunchroom, Pip’s homemade lunch “stinks,” according to the new pig.
In art class, the new pig makes fun of Pip’s unusual artistic perspective.
And yes, the band leader (an adult) asks Pip if her mother is her babysitter (her mother’s skin color is different). So Pip begins to feel different. At home, her parents see that Pip isn’t her usual sunny self.
Her outburst “WHY CAN’T YOU MAKE ME A NORMAL LUNCH?!” offers the clue that sparks her mother’s brilliant response.
The family goes to a place where different is “normal,” the city.
I absolutely ADORE this spread where pigs of all colors and stripes are speaking different languages. And I LOVE that the dialogue translations can be found on the copyright page.
At a city playground, Pip observes that “all of the pigs looked so different.” And “even the food was different.”
Then she parrots those cutting words to a city pig who is not like her:
“Is there anything on the menu that’s not so weird?”
But unlike Pip who became self-conscious when scrutinized and criticized for being weird, this pig shrugs off her criticism.
“Maybe it’s weird for you, but not for me. I like it.”
And then the pig offers some of the “weird” food to Pip.
The result? When they get home, Pip decides to take her “normal” lunch to school.
Illustrations/text ⓒ K-Fai Steele
In the cafeteria, Pip’s transformation is complete. When the bullying pig makes yet another “weird” comment, Pip stands up to the criticism and offers to share. Her friends like her food, and the bullying pig sulks off with its white bread sandwich, LOL.
“And weirdly enough, by recess Pip felt pretty normal again.”
Love, love, love this story! Letting kids know that they should not allow their perceptions of themselves to be diminished by others opinions AND that “normal” is really an internal feeling, not artificially prescribed by an external judge. I’m thinking there are plenty of adults who would benefit from giving this revelation a long thought, too.
All this in a funny, sly polka dot package. K-Fai’s illustrations are filled with nods to “real” families and kids’ behavior, from the expressions on the faces of the pigs in the classroom photo on the cover, to the games being played by the pigs in the bus, to the painfully real question about a parent being a “babysitter” because Pip looks so different from her mother.
A fabulous new book to share with kids!
Activities/Resources:
- Pair this book with SWEETY (reviewed here) by Andrea Zuill. Sweety, a naked mole rat who likes interpretive dance, mushrooms, and rainy days, struggles to find “her people.” Discuss diversity from both angles: being friends with those who are different from you as well as with those who are similar. Discuss the many ways it’s possible for two friends to be both different and similar. Ask the question: How are they the same yet different from their own friends?
- Plan a multi-cultural food tasting at home or at school. Invite families/kids to make and bring foods from a culture that is not their own.
- Building Positive Identities and Respect for Differences: Diversity lesson plan from Scholastic
- Seek out and read books with diverse main characters: We Need DiverseBooks offers an extensive listing of sites that recommend books according to interest.
TITLE: A NORMAL PIG
AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR: K-FAI STEELE
PUBLISHER: HARPER COLLINS, BALZER & BRAY, 2019
AGES: PRESCHOOL-3RD GRADE
THEMES: DIVERSITY, SELF-CONFIDENCE, VERBAL BULLYING
For more perfect picture books, please visit Susanna Hill’s website.
As a co-producer of Kidquake, the elementary school program of San Francisco’s annual Litquake literary festival, I’m pleased to say that K-Fai will also be sharing her illustration process of NOODLEPHANT with our 3rd-5th graders this fall. Yay!
I am lucky enough to have snagged an F&G of A NORMAL PIG to share with you today. (Thank you, K-Fai!) A NORMAL PIG’s book birthday is officially June 4, 2019. But it’s never to early to pre-order!!
Jilanne Hoffmann 
This sounds wonderful! I am excited about its release on June 4th. I will share this with my library to make sure it’s on their radar for purchase.
Yay, thank you! I think it should be in every library!
very cute! Lots of nice touches! Can’t wait to see it!
I’m thinking you’ll love it! Cheers!
Brilliant. I also adore that city spread. This is such a great mentor text for a strong message with a flawless delivery. Thank you.
Yes! I do so admire author-illustrators. Holding both the text and illustration potential in their heads. K-Fai is spot on (pardon the pun) with this one.
Great choice for #PPBF, Jilanne. This is indeed a book that kids, and adults, should read and examine. And I too love that city spread. Thanks for featuring it.
Thanks, Maria! Coming soon to bookstores and libraries near you!
Such a catchy title and the story lives up to it! I like how the author handles this important subject of identity in such a clever way. I’ll be looking out for this book!
Yes, I think K-Fai has approached the topic of identity and diversity in a very clever way. If your library or local bookstore doesn’t carry the book, please request it! Thanks for stopping by!
A strong message how the pig is “normal” until another perspective tilts her outlook–all it takes is one person to dent the happy bubble. A worthy resolution.
Yes, it’s interesting how easily one’s sense of self can be damaged. Awareness can help fight it.
So cute and with a wonderful message. I love the illustrations. 🐷 This makes me wish I could illustrate my own writing.
Sometimes I wish I could illustrate and then other times I see it as a double road to crazy-making. It all depends on how well my day is going, LOL.
Definitely! I have a fabulous imagination of what different spreads should look like with my writing but I’m unable to make it go from my brain to paper or a screen.
This looks like such a fun book – I need to find a copy to read!
Please do! You’ll love it!
What a great book!
It is! I keep going back to look at the illustrations.
Love the message and the illustrations in this new picture book. Great choice! I’ll be on the lookout for it.
It will be out soon!
Wonderful! I think this is a must-have for kids everywhere. What is “normal” anymore, right?
Exactly. And it’s important for kids to know that!