There wasn't any of the contrived humor with Ferdinand the duck. The book had a simple innocence about it that was missing from the movie. I knew Aaron and Maxwell would love it (and they did), but I was surprised how much more I liked the book (especially since the movie was part of my childhood, and the book was not). Farmer Hogget is amazed with Babe's abilities, and after Babe proves his loyalty and skills on a couple of occasions, Farmer Hogget decides to do something daring and enters Babe in the Grand Challenge Sheepdog Trials.Īfter finishing the book, we decided to watch the movie for family night. In spite of his short legs and awkward physique, Babe has a natural talent with the sheep (but mostly because he has good manners). Just for fun, Fly begins teaching Babe some tricks of the sheep herding trade. Babe follows her around everywhere, and Farmer Hogget soon notices that Babe acts more like a dog than a pig.

She finds out his name is Babe and offers to look after him. She has a low opinion of pigs (and sheep), but she takes an instant liking to the pig Farmer Hogget brings home. At the end of the day, he finds out he won the pig.įly is a sheepdog and not a bad one either. The pig stops squealing, and the two of them lock eyes. Farmer Hogget doesn't want to win the pig, but he lifts up the little animal anyway. For ten pence, he can take a guess at the piglet's weight. But at the county fair, he walks past a squealing piglet in a cardboard box. And sometimes, as in the case of Babe, it's a combination: I put this book on my list months ago, but it wasn't until a passing comment from someone that I remembered about it and got it from the library.Īnd now that you know more than you ever wanted to about my book-selection method, let me tell you about this delightful book.įarmer Hogget raises sheep, not pigs. Sometimes it's more laborious: I consult my list and read plot summaries and check out a few in case a couple of them are bombs. Sometimes my decision is totally random: I suddenly remember a book from my childhood, and the next day I have it from the library. Many times, I let Aaron and Max help me by giving them a choice of three different books. When we are nearing the end of a book, I get the fun task of deciding what we're going to read next. (After I check them out from the library, I usually give unfamiliar titles a quick preview, which means some books get sent straight back.)

Many of them I have not read before, so there are some I won't actually end up reading to my kids. These are books that I heard about on another blog or from a friend or in a book. I keep a running list of children's chapter books on Goodreads that I want to read to my kids.

Babe by Dick King-Smith