Reading Metrics
Description
Sentenced to 5000 hours community service for some illicit tight rope walking, Nanny Piggins isn't the type of pig to take her punishment lying down, not when there are old people to rescue, pirates to impersonate and a great big bus to borrow.
Quick Summary
If your kids loved the irreverence of Roald Dahl books, Nanny Piggins will be right up their alley. The title character is an utterly ridiculous pig who serves as a nanny to three children, and she's completely uninterested in doing anything the "proper" way her solution to community service is to stage increasingly wild rescues and schemes, including impersonating pirates and commandeering a bus. The humor is genuinely silly without being mean-spirited, and there's a sweet thread about chosen family woven through all the chaos. At an AR Level of 6.5 with a brisk pace and short chapters, it's perfect for middle-grade readers who might be intimidated by longer books but want something with real substance and laughs. Parents will appreciate that the message (standing up for what's right, looking out for each other) comes through loud and clear without being preachy. The book works equally well as a read-aloud for younger kids or an independent read for fourth graders on up.