Death in the family

Old pig

by Margaret Wild & Ron Brooks

This is a tale about the death of a close family member.  It is the story of Old Pig and her granddaughter who share a strong bond as they spend their life together in work, play and conversation.  One morning, Old Pig is unable to get out of bed however the following day she does get up with a plan as to what she needs to accomplish.  So Old Pig sets about paying bills, returning her library books and clearing her bank account so that she can give her money to her granddaughter. She" feasts her eyes on the trees, the flowers, the sky - on everything, and together with granddaughter, they "smell the warm earth and taste the rain". At the end of their very long day, Old Pig is very tired and goes to bed and granddaughter joins her holding her tight until morning.  This tender tale ends wordlessly with a picture of granddaughter alone looking up at the sky amidst the beauty of nature.  This book provides a gentle way in which to broach the topic of the death of a loved one, either very recent or impending, and it is done in a very sensitive and caring way.

Citation:

Wild, Margaret & Brooks, Ron. Old pig, St Leonards, N.S.W. : Allen &​ Unwin, 1995. 

Community Rating:

14 reader ratings with an average score of 3.93 out of 5 stars (courtesy of www.GoodReads.com)

Awards:

(1) Shortlisted, Picture Book of the Year, Children’s Book Council Awards 1996
(2) Shortlisted, Picture Book Division, ACT Canberra’s Own Outstanding List (COOL) 1998 (3) Shortlisted, Picture Storybook, Young Australians’ Best Book Awards (YABBA) 1997
(4) Commended, Ashton Scholastic Award for Best Designed Children’s Book 1996