This week I’m reviewing a book in the “Watch Animals Grow” series. It should be no surprise (since it’s National Pork Month, after all) that I read the “Piglets” book, by Colleen Sexton.

This book is in the Blastoff! Readers series, which has 5 levels of difficulty. This is a level 1 book, suitable for ages 4 and up. Even though this is an “easy reader,” I was a little disappointed with the way piglets were portrayed in this book.

She talks about piglets living on a farm, but then this is the type of picture that she uses to illustrate the “farm.” Not to mention that this particular photo looks pretty fake, but this is not the kind of farm environment that pigs live in. Even pigs that are kept outside don’t live on grass pastures with daisies. The pig’s normal tendency is to root around and dig up dirt with it’s snout. A group of piglets would have this grass torn up by the end of the day!

She talks about what piglets eat and what they do all day long. This part was fine, she had the diet right, and piglets do chase and bite each other, just like kittens or puppies do.

But, since most pigs are kept inside, they don’t roll in the mud to keep cool. Farmers provide excellent ventilation and air conditioning to keep the piglets cool!

This book had lots of photos of cute piglets, and it is certainly easy to read and understand. But it really doesn’t accurately portray the way pigs and piglets live. It’s pretty misleading, actually, with all the photos of piglets outside in the grass.

I have to say, this is the first agriculture book that I’ve reviewed here that I do not recommend. If all you’re looking for is a book with cute piglets, this is your book. If you’re looking for an accurate description of how pigs and piglets live, this isn’t it.

{Affiliate links were used in this post. All photos are from the book Watch Animals Grow:  Piglets.}