Horse In The Pigpen

Written by: Linda Williams

Illustrated by: Megan Lloyd

On one very strange day, the farmer's daughter notices none of the animals are where they belong! It all begins with the horse rolling around in the mud like a pig in the pigpen. The little girl runs to tell her ma and to get help, but Ma is too busy to help fix the chaos that is happening on the farm. So, Ma tells her daughter to go tell the pigs, but when she does, what does she find? The pigs are in the chicken coop pecking at grain! How is she going to fix this messy situation without her ma's help? Towards the end of the day, the little girl goes into her room and right there in her bed is the cow. Can this day get anymore unorganized? Finally, once everyone seems to be in order, the farmer's daughter climbs into bed only to find one more out of place surprise!

While looking through the library the other day, I came across this book and began just by flipping through the pages. I absolutley loved the illustrations by Megan Lloyd. So, I decided I had to write about this book even though it is on the younger side. The author Linda Williams wrote this book in a very rhythmical and repetitive pattern, which makes the words flow naturally off of the tounge. This book is so much fun to read aloud, and it allows the opportunity for participation from the students. Horse in the Pigpen has many agriculture points that can be brought up. First of all would be the different farm animals in the book. Have the children explain where they think the animals should belong on a farm, such as the horse should belong in the stables and so on and so forth. Another point could be to talk about a farm such as what is on a farm, what do people do on a farm, and see if the children have ever visited a farm. If possible, a field trip to a local farm could be planned. This book is a lot of fun. So, have fun with it and remember to try and find a way to make a connection with the book to real life, to the students, or even to yourself.