Hic!

Author: Jaclin Azoulay
Illustrated by The Fenix Factory
Publisher: Top That, 2012

Here's a nice fun little pre-schooler book, a tale about a hiccuping pig. Snuffletrump the pig is feeling all down in the dumps as he's got hiccups and seemingly everyone has forgotten his birthday. Off he trots to speak to various farm yard animals about the cure for hiccups. Unbeknown to Snuffletrump, his parents are organising him a surprise party all the while, and yes of course, the best cure for hiccups -well it happens to be a surprise!

The illustrations in the book are all very generic and nothing to write home about, and the type font is also quite annoying and hard to read. However, the plot line of this hard-done-by pig getting more and more frustrated as he searches for the cure to stop hiccups, getting into a real mess along the way, keeps the attention of little ones well. Bert (5) and Edie (3) both like it when Snuffletrump sounds increasingly more irate, but I like the fact that the little pig still, in spite of his mood, always manages to say thank you to the farm yard animals for their help before he passes on his way. (Though on the other hand he's a bit self deserving and hard done by...choose your interpretation my adult reader). 

My children like spotting the party clues in the picture background on some of the pages, such as a van with a party cake driving up to the barn as Suffletrump talks to the farm yard duck, this positions them as 'being in on the secret' which is gleefully empowering age 3-5 years! 

Readership for this book might also be suitable for 2 year olds, but it's a little wordy for anyone younger.  All in all, a good fun read about an exasperated pig that's a little better than average and worth a read in the library.