Page 1 of 1

Pigs in art and children's literature

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 5:08 am
by halldeckery
So Olivia the Pig has only been around for 20-some years.

And that's a whole generation growing up thinking "This is what storybook pigs are like".

And literary pigs before that were either bewildered pigs [like Wilbur] who knew they were food

[a modern version might be the Diary of a Wimpy Kid unnamed pig who was won at a county fair].

or else they were dirty and messy.

And Falconer is probably right about pigs' awkwardness hiding their intelligence - especially in the eyes of socialised adults.

The Ladybird pigs in the SLAP HAPPY LARRY pictures seem to know they are food.

Except for Piggly who is a good representative of the slovenly and dirty side of pigs/children.

And I like the way that Tom Tom the Piper's Son in the Richard Scarry version was carrying an actual gingerbread pig - very savvy to mythology and folklore.

The Rychlicki pig has a bit of an Olivia-before-Olivia feel. They might recognise each other if they were in the neighbourhood.

Re: Pigs in art and children's literature

Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2020 7:20 am
by Slap Happy Larry
Oh good, I'm glad the first comment on this new forum is about pigs. When I set up the word cloud last week in a widget update I was surprised to find how many times I have mentioned pigs on this blog.

I don't even think Olivia the Pig realises she's a pig, does she? (Let alone food.) I can see some dark fan fic potential there.