Pigs Might Fly

Enjoying every animal fantasy by King-Smith. This exciting story about a deformed runt who not only escapes getting culled but saves the farm is in many ways one of the best. Like real life on a farm it is a bit intense; not saccharine - perfect for adventurous young readers. I love how 'The Squire' and his wives, including 'Mrs. Barleylove' think of Pigman as their slave. I love how there are no children in the book - King-Smith realizes that young readers appreciate a good story even if it isn't directly about them.

Daggie Dogfoot, the runt of the litter, is in danger. The pigman, who takes all runts from their pens, is coming for him! But Daggie is a pig of remarkable qualities, and he's not about to let the Pigman get him. Instead, he runs away and decides to learn how to fly. But when he tries leaping off a cliff, he discovers another talent -- a talent he'll need to save the entire farm...

A warm, humorous, well-developed tale of a determined pig and his animal friends. My first Dick King-Smith book read shortly after its introduction. Read as an adult during my early years of teaching, it was just as delightful as reading Charlotte's Web when I was nine. (Not an easy read for most elementary students.)

There are four reasons why I liked this book. It was well written, had well developed characters, had illustrations that helped the story along, and over had a good message that kids could learn from the story. The way that dick writes his book seem very real. I understand that animals don't talk, but Imagine if they did they wouldn't be too far off from how dick describes it. The book flowed well, and each event ran into the next. As I was reading I also found it useful to have the small illustrations that occurred as the book went on. it made the story easier to follow just having that little picture to reference. It would also be a good way for younger students to be motivated to read the book, they can just read till they got to the show more next picture and then they will have the book finished in no time. The pictures were all pencil drawing and simple but along with the descriptive text it is all that they really needed to be. Another aspect that I liked about the book was the way the main character was introduced and developed throughout the book. Daggie is introduced as the runt of the litter that was destine to be killed, but instead his mother gives him a chance to run away and live. As the story goes on you follow Daggie along on journey as he discovers his ability to swim. which as a reader at first i was unclear what a pig would do with the ability to swim; however, as most great books it all comes together. Daggie is a character that kids can connect with and that they want to continue to read about. The main message that kids will get from this book is that talent can be found in the least likely places. show less

A runt piglet born with deformed front feet is coached in swimming by a duck and an otter and, when the pig farm is flooded, becomes a hero.

Having been coached in swimming by a duck and an otter, a runt piglet with deformed front feet becomes a hero when their farm is flooded.

Originally published as Doggie Dogfoot (Victor Gollancz, 1980)School-distribution edition (ISBN *-415)