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Monday, May 23, 2011

My Lucky Day, written and illustrated by Keiko Kasza. Puffin, Penguin. 2003. $8.50 ages 3 and up


"When the fox opened the door,
there stood a delicious-looking
piglet.
"Oh, no!" screamed the piglet.
"Oh, yes!" cried the fox.  "You've
come to the right place."
He grabbed the piglet and hauled
him inside."

Fox cannot believe his great good luck when a Pig shows up at his door looking for Rabbit! He opens it and welcomes Pig into his home with a roasted pork dinner on his mind. He sets about making his dining dreams come true. Pig has the wherewithal to trick Fox into cleaning him up first. After all, Pig is filthy and won't make much of a dinner when the roasting pan is coated with dirt.

Fox takes Pig at his word, and goes about finding wood for a fire and a big potful of water. Then, he scrubs Pig with tender loving care. Pig is most appreciative and full of praise for Fox's adept handling of the bath.
Now, that he is clean, Pig is sure that Fox can see how small he really is, and he suggests that a good dinner might fatten him up. Fox puts more energy into creating a delicious dinner of spaghetti, with a cookie chaser.

The time has come! Well, maybe not. Pig feels that his meat might be tough without a massage. Fox acquiesces and sets about giving Pig a full body massage, using all of his leftover energy squeezing, pounding and kneading Pig into a tender and soft specimen. Alas, Fox passes out from the exertion, leaving Pig to take his leave.

It is only on the final page we discover that Pig knew just what he was doing! Now, he can set his sights on 'Wolf who lives next to the tallest pine tree' or 'Bear whose house has the red roof by the river'! Don't you just love trickster tales??

Angela's grandson Noah thought this book was worthy of repeated readings and he's only three...but he loved the fun and humor of it all. Such a silly Fox to be tricked by a much smaller Pig!

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