Hogwash!

PreS-K--Farmer wants to bathe all the animals, but the pigs just won't behave-all they want to do is wallow in the mud. And they tell him so, through a series of increasingly defiant rhyming signs. Farmer pulls every trick he can think of, enticing them with food, posing as a pizza deliveryman, even filling his crop-dust plane with shampoo and water and flying over them. When he crash-lands in the sty, though, Farmer finally learns the joy of a good mud bath. The mayhem is reminiscent of Doreen Cronin's Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type (S & S, 2000). While Wilson's rhyming tale is not as wildly original as that story, it's pleasantly bouncy, and McMullan's vibrantly expressive watercolor illustrations add to the fun.--Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD

"One warm day in early May, / Farmer had a plan/ To spring-clean all his animals/ Till each was spic 'n' span." Thus is the stage set for a contentious barnyard rebellion that's more Click, Clack, Moo than Animal Farm. Wilson's (Bear Snores On) verse never misses a beat as Farmer tries to get his pigs to bathe, and the hogs make their opinions known in mud-spattered signage: "No hogwash for us today./ Pigs love dirt--so go away!" McMullan's (I'm Big!) pigs revel in muddy bliss as Farmer tries one ploy after another, finally filling his crop duster with water and shampoo and planning an aerial assault. When Farmer's plane makes an unexpected landing in the pigpen, he learns about the joys of wallowing. Kids will be plenty entertained by the lanky, bespectacled Farmer's many disguises (and escalating frustration), but the crafty, confident, and expressive pigs hog the spotlight in every scene. It's a highly satisfying story of "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em"; these two children's book veterans make it look easy. Ages 4-8. (June)