Hogwood Steps Out: A Good, Good Pig Story - Hardcover

"The list ofclassic pig-based children's books is longer by one with the introduction ofthis new title."
-- The Bloomsbury Review

"Hogwood StepsOut is a great children's book, with an endearing and enduring main character,a fine adventure, and not a hint of condescension or sentimentality. Itssubtitle "A Good Good Pig Story," suggests this may be the first of many.Here's hoping."
-- Rebecca Rule, The Concord Monitor

"Mansfield haswritten a wonderful first book for children, showing Hogwood's wry sense ofhumor. This book will make a great read-aloud as students become absorbed inMoser's full page illustrations, which almost steal the show with their beautifulcompliments to Mansfield's text. They are vibrantly colored with great detailand some humorous touches... The story eloquently concludes with Hogwood in hispen dreaming of future adventures in a watermelon and pumpkin patch. Just likeHogwood, readers will be saying yes to this wonderfully crafted story. HighlyRecommended."
-- Library Media Connection, (Starred Review)

"What happenswhen spring strikes the fancy of a 600-pound pig with personality and panache?Confined to his pen all winter, Christopher Hogwood smells the rich, invitingmud. Beguiled by sunlight, the light-footed porker opens the gate and heads tothe garden for a light lettuce snack, until a frustrated gardener wards himoff. Unruffled, Christopher Hogwood follows his nose to the lawn, which heproceeds to roll up like a carpet with his snout. When the distraught lawnowner chases him with a broom, the mud-mad piggy trots toward a "deep, deepearth smell" and discovers an excavator at work. Leaving chaos in his wake,Christopher Hogwood seems content to "let" the nice policeman lure him homewith a bucket of apples. Life is good. Based on experiences with his own pig,Mansfield spins this affectionate paean with tongue firmly in cheek, whileMoser's stunning watercolors capture Christopher Hogwood at his most luminous:dreaming innocently in his pen; indifferently munching lettuce; snout-deep infreshly plowed dirt; mud-splattered and insouciant. Some pig indeed! (Picturebook. 4-8)"
-- Kirkus Reviews