Sunday, August 2, 2009

The Best Things in Life

I have a puppy (well he's a year old now) whose favorite toys are milk jugs and soda bottles. He chases them around the house, crackles them in his jaws, and bangs me on the legs with them. Of course, the best part is that they're completely free and I don't care if he destroys them because there's always another one coming. Crispin the Pig also discovers that the best toys aren't fancy ones from the store, but can be something as simple as a cardboard box. Crispin, the Pig Who Had It All, by Ted Dewan, tells the story of a spoiled pig who discovers his imagination, the one thing he doesn't have, through a cardboard box that Santa leaves for him on Christmas. Along the way, he also discovers friendship, and that good old cliche - the best things in life are free.

In Crispin and the Three Little Piglets, Crispin's parents bring home the new sibling(s). Triplets! While the story includes the usual new sibling issues of feeling neglected and put out, the story takes a few fun turns and twists, and even manages to bring those cardboard boxes back into the story.

The best children's books teach without preaching, and Ted Dewan does a wonderful job of that with these two stories. Check them out at the library, or get them for keeps at MudPuddles.

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