Rating: 4.5 stars
I love these books--mostly for the gorgeous watercolor illustrations that I'd like to cut out and frame and put on the walls in each child's bedroom (but they are library books so of course I wouldn't!). But I also love the characters, two pigs with different personalities who somehow mesh together incredibly well. Toot is my favorite--he's the adventure seeker, always looking for some new place to go or fantastic experience to have. Toot is bright and cheerful, optimistic and playful. His little piggy face has a big piggy smile on at all times.
But in this book, Toot is moping. In a poopy mood. His friend Puddle is confused--Toot is never in the doldrums. Toot walks around in a storm cloud. So, his buddy Puddle makes it his mission to cheer him up. He makes Puddle his favorite five-berry cobbler, provides an adventure by floating own a river, and has a party with all of Toot's friends.
Still, Toot mopes. Poor guy.
Then, there is a real storm--not just the figurative one over Toot. It rains and rains. Lightening crackles, thunder rumbles, all the animals are scared.
And in the morning, Toot skips through the puddles. The old Toot is back!
"Sometimes you need a whopping thunderstorm to clear the air." The two pigs agree that thunderstorms and friends are absolutely necessary.
I am not great at letting my kids stay in a poopy mood, but it's good for me to remember: Everyone mopes. Everyone has their down minutes, down days, sometimes down weeks. Hopefully they have a friend nearby who takes their mope-itude on and makes them smile and laugh, if only a little at a time, until their doldrums are over.
The other great thing about this book is that I get "You Are My Sunshine" stuck in my head, and that's not a bad thing at all. Love that song.
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