ISBN-13: 978-0-06-134955-3
ISBN-10: 0-06-134955-0
Numeroff, L. (1998). If you give a pig a pancake. City of publication unknown: HarperCollins.
“If You Give a Pig A Pancake” is one of many circular stories written by Laura Numeroff. It follows the story of a pig with a very short attention span and a little girl trying to keep up with her many requests from pancakes to a bath to music to a tree house and ending back with a request for more pancakes. This book is fantastic for young children of about preschool age (3-5).
I consider this book to be perfect for children aged three to five years old. It is short enough to read easily in one sitting with most preschool aged children, the story has the right combination of fun and silliness, and the illustrations are not only bright and colourful but they are full of quirky details. Felicia Bond illustrated this story and I find it almost confusing how her pictures can be so simple and so detailed all at the same time. The last picture in the book shows this example perfectly. It’s a very basic picture but it contains every element from the entire story in one drawing. The expressions on the pig’s face are adorable. The ones that stand out are the pig diving into the bathtub, the pig missing home (heartbreaking!) and the pig being wheeled to the mailbox. I’m not an artist but my best guess is that Bond uses basic supplies such as pencil crayons and makers in her hand drawn illustrations.
PROVOCATION
My provocation for this story will be making pancakes! The supplies I need are:
· Pancake mix
· Water
· Mixing bowl(s)
· Mixing spoon(s)
· Measuring cup(s) – liquid and solid
· Electric Grill
· Butter/Margarine
· Variety pancake toppings: syrup, honey, jam
Children would help measure ingredients, mix the batter, and then an adult would cook the pancakes. The children will then get to pick a topping(s) for their pancakes. After the pancakes are finished and the children are sitting together, we’ll have a discussion about the pancakes, who liked them, who didn’t, what topping they tried, etc... I would then tell them that I have a friend who loves pancakes and would they like to meet her? I will then pull out my pig puppet. “Did you know that pigs like to eat pancakes? Would you like to hear a story about a pig that ate a pancake?” Then I will read the book.
WONDERS FOR THIS STORY:
While reading the book or telling the story on any of the four ways below, I will stop on various pages to offer the children “wonders”. Obviously I wouldn’t use the same wonders every time and I wouldn’t use all of these the first time I read the book. Some of these wonders are more specific to the pages shown in the book but some of them could be used in any of the following ways I would tell this story. The pages of this book are not numbered but I have listed the wonders in order as they appear in the story.
· I wonder where this little pig came from that’s looking through the window.
· I wonder if the little girl made these pancakes herself or if she had help from a grownup.
· I wonder if the pig has ever had a bubble bath before.
· The pig looks so sad. I wonder who she misses the most from home.
· I wonder what song she plays that makes the pig dance on the table.
· I wonder how she stacked the furniture so high.
· I wonder if pigs can really climb trees.
· I wonder why the pig isn’t tired after that very busy day.
WAY #1: FELT STORY
· Felt Board
· Felt Pieces (as shown)
· One page summary of the story
I purchased this felt story from the website www.aprilsdaycare.com for a reasonable price, approximately $15. I have typed up the story on one sheet of paper (see attached) which I will use when telling the story. Words that have a felt item are in bold. I will tell the story by placing the items in a circle (as shown) to reinforce the concept of starting and ending with the pancake. After telling it once, I will pass out the pieces to the children and, while I told the story again, they can place the items wherever they chose. My daughters like to act out the story by putting the suitcase under the bed, the tap shoes on the pig, pouring the bubbles into the bath, etc. A wonder that I thought of that was more specific to this felt story is: “I see two pieces of wood here. I wonder how many pieces of wood you need to built a tree house.” That wonder could be extended to the nails and the wallpaper too.
WAY #2: MAGNET BOARD
· Magnetic board
· Magnetic objects:
· Pig, girl, pancake, syrup, bubbles, duck, suitcase, tap shoes, dress, camera, envelope, hammer, nails, bath, bed, piano, stamp wood, wallpaper, glue.
· One page summary of the story
As the magnet board version of the story is very similar to the felt story, I will follow the similar ideas as listed above.
WAY #3: STORY LINE
· String
· Clothes pins (the clothes pins I purchased are magnetic so if there was a large magnetic board in the center, the string wouldn’t be needed).
· Laminated colour copies of pictures from the book.
· One page summary of the story
I will set up the string and clothes pins and have the laminated pages together in the correct order. As I tell the story, I will put the pages up for the children to look at. Because this will be the fourth time the children have heard the story, I might challenge the children in a new way: “I wonder what picture is coming next?”
I thought an extension that is specific to this version, as they have heard the story a few times, will be to have the laminated pages out and the children can try to put them in order, like a puzzle, and then tell the story themselves according to the pictures.
WAY #4: LARGE PROP STORY
· One page summary of the story OR the book itself
· Up to 18 children standing in a large circle; children can take more than one turn if there is a smaller group.
· The following props: Pig hat, box pancake mix, empty syrup bottle, baby bathtub, empty bottle of bubble bath, rubber ducky, suitcase, dance shoes, kids size dress, piano/music (haven’t figured this one out yet), camera, envelope, stamp, piece of wood, hammer, jar of nails, piece of wall paper, bottle of glue.
This is the final way I have to tell the story and, as it’s the fifth time the children will hear the story, I thought it would be fun to turn it into more of a game. The children will stand in a circle with props in the middle and, together, try to figure out the order in which they should hold the props. If this is too advanced, I will simply read the story again and the children can go into the center of the circle and pick up the correlating item.
EXTENSIONS
· TAKING PICTURES: In the story, the pig gets all dressed up and wants the little girl to take pictures of her. The children will take turns with the dress up items in the center, creating a character, and then having their picture taken.
· MAILBOX: In the story, the pig takes the many photos that have been taken of her and mails them to her family members. Children can help stamp and address an envelope containing their photo along with a drawing or letter to his/her family. We would then walk to the nearest mailbox and each child will take turn mailing his/her letter.
· HANDS ON: The felt board, magnet board, and story line from the ways above could be placed out for the children to play with and explore on their own.
· SONGS AND FINGER PLAYS:
The Tail of a Pig (sung to “The Wheels on the Bus”)
The tail of a pig curls round and round,
Round and round, round and round.
The tail of a pig curls round and round
All through the mud.
Round and round, round and round.
The tail of a pig curls round and round
All through the mud.
The mouth of a pig goes oink oink oink...
The snout of a pig goes root root root...
The hooves of a pig go run run run...
The ears of a pig go twitch twitch twitch...
P-I-G-G-Y (Sung to “Bingo”)
There was a hungry little hog;
And Piggy was his name-o.
P-I-G-G-Y, P-I-G-G-Y, P-I-G-G-Y,
And Piggy was his name-o
And Piggy was his name-o.
P-I-G-G-Y, P-I-G-G-Y, P-I-G-G-Y,
And Piggy was his name-o
Eight Baby Pigs (finger play)
Two mother pigs lived in a pen (thumbs)
Each had four babies and that made ten (fingers of both hands)
These four babies were brown and white (fingers of one hand)
These four babies were black as night (fingers of the other hand)
All eight babies loved to play (wiggle fingers)
As they rolled and rolled in the mud all day! (roll hands)
Each had four babies and that made ten (fingers of both hands)
These four babies were brown and white (fingers of one hand)
These four babies were black as night (fingers of the other hand)
All eight babies loved to play (wiggle fingers)
As they rolled and rolled in the mud all day! (roll hands)
· MORE CIRCULAR STORIES: There are many other stories from Laura Numeroff that could be read that follow the same pattern as this story. Some examples are:
If You Give a Moose a Muffin
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
If You Take a Mouse to School
If You Give a Pig a Party
One Page Version of “If You Give a Pig a Pancake”
If you give a pig a pancake, she’ll want some syrup to go with it.
You’ll give her some of your favourite maple syrup.
She’ll probably get all sticky, so she’ll want to take a bath.
She’ll ask you for some bubbles.
When you give her the bubbles, she’ll probably ask you for a toy.
You’ll have to find your rubber duck.
The duck will remind her of the farm where she was born. She might feel homesick and want to visit her family.
She’ll want you to come too. She’ll look through your closet for a suitcase.
Then she’ll look under your bed. When she’s under the bed, she’ll find your old tap shoes.
She’ll try them on. She’ll probably need something special to wear with them.
When she’s all dressed, she’ll ask for some music.
You’ll play your very best piano piece, and she’ll start dancing.
Then she’ll want you to take her picture. So you’ll have to get your camera.
When she sees the picture, she’ll ask you to take more. Then she’ll want to send one of each of her friends.
You’ll have to give her some envelopes and stamps and take her to the mailbox.
On the way, she’ll see the tree in your backyard. She’ll want to build a tree house.
So you’ll have to get her some wood, a hammer, and some nails.
When the tree house is finished, she’ll want to decorate it. She’ll ask for wallpaper and glue.
When she hangs the wallpaper, she’ll get all sticky.
Feeling sticky will remind her of our favourite maple syrup. She’ll probably ask you for some more. And chances are, if she asks you for some syrup, she’ll want a pancake to go with it.
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