Pig tales (Usborne Farmyard Tales: Pig Gets Stuck - Heather Amery)

Member Name: nicolaxx74

Product:	Usborne Farmyard Tales: Pig Gets Stuck - Heather Amery
Date:	02/12/08 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Short, lots to do, fun, easy to pack, cheap

Disadvantages: __________

'Pig Gets Stuck' by Heather Amery and Stephen Cartwright is one of twenty titles in the Usborne Farmyard Tales mini edition series. All of the stories revolve around Apple Tree Farm and the family that live there; Mr and Mrs Boot, Poppy and Sam and their dog Rusty. In each book the children have an adventure joined by the rest of the family or some of the other characters who live in the village.

In this story we are once again introduced to the six pigs who live on Apple Tree Farm. Curly is the smallest Piglet and always seems to get himself into some sort of mischief. Mrs Boot brings the pigs some breakfast but as Curly is teh smallest pig he gets pushed out of the way. Feeling hungry, Curly goes in search of some food. He leaves the pig pen and goes to the different farm animals homes looking for something nice to eat. He isn't impressed with what is on offer at the cow shed, the sheep pen or the duck pen. He notices the chicken shed and wanders over to see what they have to eat. He squeezes through a small gap in the fence and helps himself to the chickens breakfast. Menwhile, Mrs Boot wonders where Curly has gone and has gone in search of him. She finds Curly in the chicken pen and calls to him. Curly decides it is time to race on back to the other pigs and runs to the fence - but uh,oh, he has eaten too much chicken feed and can longer get through the gap in the fence. Poppy find it funny and laughs, but how do they manage to get Curly out? Read the book and find out!

Each of the Farmyard Tales books has a little yellow duck to find on each page. This is an added bonus and fun, interactive task for children to do. My son loves to find the duck and can often find him before I do! It encourages the children to look at the picture and scan the pages looking for the detail.

Each of the Farmyard tales stories have a unique writing style. On each page there are two sections to the text. A shorter, more simple sentence at the top of the page followed by a longer and more detailed sentence at the bottom. These stories are suitable for beginner readers (5years plus) and so when reading together with your child, first talk about the pictures and then encourage your child to read the first sentence, followed by you reading the more detailed sentence.

For younger children you can read in different ways as well. If you want a very short story just read either the sentence at the top or at teh bottom of the page. For a longer story read both. Always remember to talk about the story with your child, looking at the picture as these are very well illustrated stories that will tell the story alone.

These books are great for reading at bedtime and also for taking away or out with you. They are nice and small so fit into a handbag easily. The book isn't just to read as there is the find the duck option too. It will keep your child entertained for a long time. I always take some of these books when we go away for the weekend or travel for longer in the car, they don't take up much room so you can easily take a variety.

I would recommend these books for both boys and girls. Their educational value changes as a child gets older. My son is 20 months and so I read the stories to him but for older children they can begin to read the story themselves using the pictures (making up a story) or starting to read the text.

These books are published by Usborne books. They are only £1.50 so not only lots of fun and a great story to read but also a bargain!

Summary: A great book