They're back! Who? you ask. Why, Poppleton and his friends. If you've never heard of Poppleton, allow me to introduce you...

Poppleton is a large, well-dressed pig who lives in a nice house in what looks to be the suburbs. He's the creation of children's author Cynthia Rylant (a favorite at our house) and illustrator Mark Teague. Together, these two have put their creative talents to work on a series of books for beginning readers. The books star Poppleton; his next door neighbor, an elegant long-lashed llama named Cherry Sue; and another neighbor, a brown field mouse named Hudson. Despite the fact that they're different sizes (and different species) these three friends really enjoy one another's company.

I have to confess we have yet to read the original Poppleton book. We first found Poppleton (at a yard sale, I think) and read the titles Poppleton in Fall and Poppleton in Winter. There appear to be at least seven or eight Poppleton books currently in print. Each is written for 4-8 year olds and contains three short stories per book. They're fun read-alouds for pre-readers, but because each page contains only a few short sentences with easy to read words, they're engaging for children learning to read on their own as well.

Poppleton is a kind and loyal friend. All of the stories we've read about him so far celebrate that quality, and show loving and fun-filled times spent with his best friends. And our favorite part: these stories are just plain funny. It's hard to get through a Poppleton story without chortles or giggles along the way, which makes these books a popular choice not just for one reading, but for repeated family readings.

In Poppleton and Friends you'll find Poppleton up to his usual enjoyable antics in all three stories.

In "The Shore Day" you'll meet a Poppleton who's longing for the ocean. Tired of being "landlocked" (a fun word to unpack with preschoolers!) he invites his friend Husdon to join him for a bus trip to the beach. You and your beginning reader get to go along as well and have some fun at the shore. Half the fun is getting there, as Poppleton and Hudson find themselves sharing a bus with a bunch of older "ladies" (sheep, cats, cows and other animals) who call themselves "The Sassy Sues." The ladies teach Poppleton and Husdon some new songs and dances and even some tricks at poker. At the end of the day, Poppleton and Hudson get to share their adventures (plus some of the shells they collected) with Cherry Sue.

Cherry Sue is my favorite character, and she features prominently in the second story "Dry Skin". When Poppleton gets worried about his flaking, dry skin, he calls Cherry Sue (a very classy looking llama) for some beauty advice. She suggests oil first, then honey, but those things don't seem to help his skin...they just make him hungry! At last the helpful Cherry Sue comes over to Poppleton's house (where's he's been chowing down on french fries and biscuits) only to discover Poppleton isn't really suffering from dry skin at all, just an old, linty sweater ("I can be such a pig," says Poppleton). She loans him her handy lint brush ("no llama can be without one").

The third and final story "Grapefruit" is the funniest in this collection. Poppleton's not only loyal, he's a bit gullible, which makes him easy prey for dieting fads. In this story, he believes a television program that informs him that eating grapefruit will make him live to be one hundred, something he would really like to do. So he buys a lot of grapefruit, and manfully (or perhaps I should say "pigfully") tries to eat it, despite the fact that it makes him want to gag. Besides the gagging going on at the kitchen table, there's a running gag throughout the story about Poppleton no longer having any lips, since the sour grapefruit has puckered them so much that they've turned "outside-in." My little girl and I laugh hard over the silly words but especially the silly pictures of fat, pink Poppleton with his puckered mouth trying so hard to be brave about eating grapefruit.

In the end, true to the lessons that these books aim to teach, Poppleton learns that cultivating friendships may be far healthier (and help him live longer!) than eating fruit he doesn't even like.

It's funny that books about a middle-aged pig are so popular with preschoolers, but evidently they are. And I can attest that my own four year old, along with her middle-aged parents, think the Poppleton books are terrific.

The clever and colorful illustrations are done in a simple, cartoonish style, with each of the main characters given a definite personality. Mark Teague, the artist, is probably best known for his illustrations for How Do Dinosaurs Say Good-Night, a very popular picture book by Jane Yolen.

Cynthia Rylant has written many books for children of all ages, from picture books to easy readers to literature for older children. Besides the Poppleton books, her other series for beginning readers are the Henry and Mudge books and the Mr. Putter and Tabby books. We've not tried Henry and Mudge yet, but it's a tough call for me to say whether we love Poppleton or Mr. Putter more. I highly recommend both humorous, well-written series for beginning readers.

~befus, 2006

Also by Cynthia Rylant:

Mr. Putter and Tabby Pick the Pears

Poppleton and Friends
by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Mark Teague
The Blue Sky Press (an imprint of Scholastic)
1997
0590847864



Recommended: Yes