The Peppermint Pig (Puffin Audiobooks)

Rating:
Summary: Sad Story About A Pig
Review: Johnny the pig started off as a family pet for a poor girl Emily. The pig was the runt of the litter and no one wanted him. He was given to Emily who treated him as a pet even though the understanding was that he would eventually be eaten. The pig Johnny was very smart and acted like a dog. As the pig got older, he was not as active, and like older pets, he just hung around eating and sleeping. For this poor family who owed many bills, the animal was a luxury that they couldn't afford. Emily comes home from school one day and Johnny is not there. He was sent to the butcher's as payment for a bill. It was devastating to her and also to me. I haven't wanted pork or bacon since. This book was good reading. It is set in the 1920's and the idiomatic language is difficult at times to follow. But overall if you like sad animal stories, you will like this book.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful story
Review: The Peppermint Pig is the story of a young girl, Poll, who along with her mother (Emily) brother (Theo) and sister (Lily) goes to live with her aunts in a rural town in England early in teh 20th century. There is a secret surrounding their move from well-off middle class city to living off the aunts' charity. Poll's father has gone away. Could he have committed a crime? A beautiful story of a family's love and pride as Emily struggles to hold the family together and Poll tries to make sense of what has happened and of the prejudice she now faces. The peppermint pig is Johnny - a family pet.
Nina Bawden is a great writer - Carrie's War is another excellent book for teens.