We LOVED Saucy by Cynthia Kadohata! Saucy is a middle-grade novel (ages 8 on up) about a pig named Saucy – who is very saucy indeed! – and her family. Eleven-year-old Becca is the only girl in a family of quadruplets. One of her brothers has cerebral palsy, one is a star hockey player, and one is a science nerd. But Becca doesn’t really have anything that makes her stand out. Until she sees Saucy lying on the side of the road. At first she and her brothers aren’t sure what exactly Saucy is – maybe an armadillo they guess? But then their parents see that she is pig, albeit one covered in mange and very skinny, pink and sickly. They rush her to a vet, who says she is very sick but is hopeful that she will survive.
Survive Saucy does! When she comes home to live with Becca and her family, she is quite the character, getting into cupboards – sometimes by ripping the doors off – breaking into the fridge, crashing through doors – she takes the family on a ride with her intelligence, determination to get what she wants, and her increasing size and strength! But she doesn’t do anything mean-spirited, she is just very excited, and she really loves to eat. She’s also very lovable and has quite a bit of charm beneath the orneriness, and when the vet points out that she will likely grow to be 600 or more pounds and would be better off in a sanctuary, Becca is very sad. Actually, everyone is sad, since the family has grown to love her.
Well, we won’t spoil it but the story ends happily. Because of Saucy, Becca has made up with an old friend with whom she had a spat, she understands her brothers in a new way, and she now has a purpose in life: to be an animal rights advocate. This last part happens after Becca discovers why Saucy was lying on the side of the road the day she met her and where she came from. You need to read the book to find out more, and trust me, you will want to read this one! The book has cute, fun illustrations by Marianna Raskin. You can get your copy here.
Skunk and Badger, another middle-grade novel by award-winning writer Amy Timberlake, with pictures by award-winning illustrator Jon Klassen, is a very sweet story about two opposites. Badger is a very, very hard worker, as badgers tend to be! He lives alone and works very hard doing Important Rock Work. When Badger’s aunt insists he rent a room to Skunk, who needs a place to stay, Badger is very disturbed and afraid his quiet, organized life will be upended. And it is of course. Skunk is very chatty, very social – the opposite of Badger. And at one point he befriends a bunch of chickens and brings them home and, well Badger just about goes nuts. Then of course there is the accidental spraying incident… Anyway, after an argument, Badger realizes just how important Skunk is to his life and much he needs the little fellow who has become his friend. Just goes to show that even though skunks can be messy and cause a stink, they are very lovable. Get your copy here.
Happy reading! And if you happen to meet any, please be good to skunks, and badgers, and pigs!
