I should take my own advice and say that, “This book stinks, stanks, stunk!” enough times to cover the 250-word requirement. When I saw Barnett’s book, I Love You Like a Pig, sitting there on the sale table bells went off. I still cannot remember why this book was in the back of my mind (other than it has gotten attention over the years), but I am not sure why it has gotten attention.
I am sorry to say if I could give this book a score lower than a one, I would. Mac Barnett and Greg Pizzoli, you gave it your best but fell very very flat for me. Maybe kids will like the parts where they can “oink” along periodically, but even that did not work for me. I sadly cannot say one nice thing about this and that makes me sad as I always try to find a positive to counter dislikes.
The text is basic and makes absolutely no sense. After all what does “I love you like a pig” even mean? And this time I cannot even enjoy Pizzoli’s illustrations. His Book Hog (while not my OMG FAVOIRTES) did work for the rest of the story. But this is not a surprise that this time I am not digging the art. I am hit or miss with his work to start with and this time the simplistic nature of them completely seals the deal on the “this book stinks” vote.
And for Barnett, I will stick with his Mac Undercover series.