Module Four...Chester the Worldly Pig AND The Witch of Blackbird Pond.

Chester the Worldly Pig written and illustrated by Bill Peet.

Peet, B.  (1965).  Chester the Worldly Pig.  Boston:  Houghton Mifflin Co.  

Summary:  Chester is pig who is unhappy with his lot in life.  He doesn't like being a pig, and doesn't like being one in a large group of pigs and wants to be something different.  He runs away to join the circus but not before master the trick of balancing on his snout.  He tries to get the attention of the circus train with this trick but fails to so he decides to follow the train tracks so he can obtain his dream of joining the circus.  He finally catches up with the circus and shows the leaders his tricks, and they make him part of the show.  He is dressed in a red ribbon and a feathery plume and given a place of honor on the back of a horse, but little does Chester know he is actually being led to the tiger's cage to be part of their act...or is it their lunch.  Chester faints and when he wakes up he finds himself dressed as a baby and paraded around in a stroller by a clown.  Chester is not happy because he thought this would be a big break.  Eventually be runs away from the circus and after many adventures in the forest, where is chased by a bear before being chased by hungry hobos.  The hobos have him for a while but he escapes again flees before finding himself at a farm again but this time he is alone.  The farmer feeds him making him fat and happy, which makes the spots on Chester's skin grow.  Once they grow they take the shape of a globe.  An old man buys the pig from the farmer and puts him on display as "The one and only worldly pig."  Chester is happy because he finally feels loved and admired.  

Impression:  This story is very cute and teaches the children to continue to look for their place in the world and not to settle with what they are told is their destiny.  Everyone should make their own destiny.  
While studying the origins of this book I discovered that Peet wrote this book as a slam on his years illustrating for Disney.  His critique of Disney and how he treated his employes are very evident through out this book.  Peet is very open about his love/hate relationship with Disney and this book is just another in a long of line of stories that are autobiographical in nature.

Reviews:

Cat B.  (2009).  Yet another kid's blog:  Chester the Worldly Pig.  
http://yetanotherchildrensbookblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/chester-worldly-pig.html

I’m sure I’ve mentioned how much I love the animal stories of Bill Peet. Like a potato chip, I can’t just limit myself to one. I have already done a review of Huge Harold but Chester the Worldly Pig is just too good to pass up doing a review of. Like Wilbur, in Charlotte’s Web, this pig had me cheering for him as he attempted to make his own luck.

Like Wilbur, Chester decides that he doesn’t want to become bacon. He decides he doesn’t want to end up on anyone’s table. But instead of finding a helpful spider, Chester decides to make his own luck. He sees a poster for the circus and decides to learn a trick. He practices and practices and finally teaches himself how to balance on his snout on a fencepost. He runs away and joins the circus only to find out that they want to make him do his trick surrounded by hungry tigers. When he faints, he becomes a clown’s sidekick. But that’s not what Chester wanted either. So he runs away from the circus only to run straight into a bear. He is saved from the bear by three hobos, but they decide to eat the little pig. They stuff Chester into a sack and take him on the trains with him. He escapes from the hobos into the city. But danger lurks everywhere in the form of butchers. He leaves the city defeated and gives himself up to the next farmer he sees. The farmer starts to fatten the pig up for eating; but Chester is saved in the end by a passing carnival promoter. Chester didn’t even need his trick, his spots form a map of the world.

As always, I am enchanted by the characters in Bill Peet’s books. Through both the story and the illustrations, Peet is able to tell an exciting story with some very memorable animal characters. Unlike so many books for children, these are not animal characters acting like people. These are animals, who act like animals, who also happen to have great adventures. Chester is a determined little pig who ends up in a series of bad positions. He is not willing to just sit and wait to become dinner. Chester decides that he will solve his problem on his own. He works hard to improve at his trick and even though it doesn’t pan out, his determination just shows how he’s not afraid of hard work or a couple bruises. Even when things reach the point where he is resigned to being dinner, he decides to do it on his own terms. He plans to grow to as big as possible. He’s a pig who takes charge of his own situation. And a great character.

This book is drawn with Bill Peet’s typical style. Using only colored pencils and ink, Peet is able to create tons of emotions for his characters. We see Chester’s pride, his heartbreak, his determination, and his joy. The rest of the cast of characters is well done but it is the little pig that steals the show. The backgrounds in Peet’s books, often set in the forest or the country, are detailed without being overpowering. A couple of pen lines somehow become a field of wheat. The circus tent is a sea of faces, all done with a bit of colored pencil and excellent shading. Peet is a master when it comes to colored pencil. At a distance, a circus elephant seems grey, but get a bit closer and you can see all the colors that have been used to create the exact shade of grey. The books are filled with great scenes. Peet’s work always seems like he’s grabbed stills from an animated film. There is so much movement and color. Perhaps it is his film background. Another Peet masterpiece and a wonderful character.

Library use:  Like so many other books, this is an excellent book for story time.  It is also a great book because of the illustrations, done by a man who worked for Disney for nearly thirty years.  The story has a great lesson and moral to it.  



The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Speare, E.G.  (1958).  The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  Boston, MA:  Houghton Mifflin.

Synopsis:  Kit Tyler travels from her childhood home in Barbados to travel to Connecticut when her parents die.  She is considered exotic and mysterious because she swim, something people in Connecticut can not do.  They think she might be a witch.  Things get complicated at various times with different friends that she makes and when it comes to Nat the man that she loves.  Can she rise above all of the suspicions.

Impression:  I enjoyed this book greatly.  I am always interested in books that take place in and around Colonial New England especially during the time of the witch hysteria and witch trials.

Reviews:

Mandell, P., & Moffet, M. (2003). The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Book).School Library Journal, 49(4), 88.  Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 10, 2013).

Gr 5-8 -Mary Beth Hurt gives an excellent performance in this reading of the Newbery Award-winning novel by Elizabeth George Speare (HM, 1958). The setting is the Colony of Connecticut in 1687 amid the political and religious conflicts of that day. Sixteen-year-old Kit Tyler unexpectedly arrives at her aunt and uncle's doorstep and is unprepared for the new world which awaits her. Having been raised by her grandfather in Barbados, she doesn't understand the conflict between those loyal to the king and those who defend the Connecticut Charter. Unprepared for the religious intolerance and rigidity of the Puritan community, she is constantly astounding her aunt, uncle, and cousins with her dress, behavior, and ideas. She takes comfort in her secret friendship with the widow, Hannah Tupper, who has been expelled from Massachusetts because she is a Quaker and suspected of being a witch. When a deathly sickness strikes the village, first Hannah and then Kit are accused of being witches. Through these conflicts and experiences, Kit comes to know and accept herself. She learns not to make hasty judgments about people, and that there are always two sides to every conflict. There are several minor plots as well, including three romances, which help to bring this time and place to life. Hurt's use of vocal inflection and expression make this an excellent choice for listening whether as an enrichment to the social studies curriculum or purely for pleasure.


Rich, A. (2002). The Witch of Blackbird Pond (Book). Booklist, 99(5), 518.   Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts with Full Text, EBSCOhost (accessed February 10, 2013).

The Witch of Blackbird Pond. By Elizabeth George Speare. Read by Mary Beth Hurt. Listening Library. 2002. 6.5hr. unabr. 4 cassettes, $26 (0-8072-0748-9). 800-541-5525.
Gr. 6–8. Hurt masterfully reads this New- bery award winner, set in seventeenth-cen- tury Puritan New England. Orphan Kit Tyler sails to the Connecticut colony to live with her aunt and uncle, but despite earnest attempts to belong, her behavior is unac- ceptable by Puritan standards. Criticized by the community, Kit seeks solace with a kindly old Quaker woman. Hurt’s youthful voice and soft New England accent per- fectly match Kit’s buoyant personality and well-meaning antics. Hurt’s perception of the story enables her to shift seamlessly among characters, and she ably portrays everyone, including Kit’s soft-spoken aunt and her terse, unforgiving uncle. The vil- lager’s talk of heresy is thick with suspicion, and Hurt’s capable reading accentuates this sense of foreboding. —Anna Rich 

Library Use:  This is a great book for historical fiction, and books about strong young women.