This is a great fantasy book because pigs don't really go to the circus and perform as lion tamers and acrobats. It shows how much fun it can be to make up stories.

Media: charcoal and gouache ( )

At school Olivia, the pig, describes how she saved the circus by doing every act. Olivia is a young girl pig who is full of spunk and imagination. She loves the color red and likes to be the center of attention. Falconer moves from a third person narration to first person when Olivia describes her day. Her assertions give the reader a direct insight into Olivia’s personality. Falconer successfully writes in the voice of a young child by saying such things as, “And that’s how I saved the circus. And now I am famous.” The setting is fairly vauge, but it is made clear by the illustrations. When Olivia goes to the Circus the illustration of the circus tents dominates the page. There isn’t much of a them to this story. The book focuses on the characterization of Olivia and how she is very much a child that likes to do things her own way. The illustrations are mainly black and white sketches that can be accented by red, black, or pink. Through these accents Falconer makes certain aspects jump out at the reader. Highly Recommended. ( )

Falconer's drawings, as always are so sweet. Paired with the succinct text, he wonderfully captures the spirit of this adventurous, creative little pig. ( )

Eh. I usually like the Olivia books, but this was one distinctly all right. I can't get past the idea that it's ok to lie to your teacher about what you did, even after he asks several times if that's really what happened. It just didn't have...that something that the Olivia books usually have. ( )

Great for grades 2 and 3. The imagination of Olivia captures kids creative side and exploits their thinking to above and beyond ( )