Lady Lollipop by Dick King Smith illustrated by Jill Barton

Characters: Princess Penelope; The King; The Queen; Johnny (wise pig owner); and Lollipop (she is one very special pig).

The Queen does not want a pig in her castle. Princess Penelope always gets her way. The King just wants everyone to be happy. Luckily Johnny has trained his special pig friend Lollipop and he is wise enough to understand that Penelope needs training too - it just has to be done carefully.  Three cheers for Johnny!

Here is the blurb: "Princess Penelope is a right royal brat. What would she like for her birthday? 'I wanna pig!' she yells. And she gets one. But Lollipop is no ordinary pig. When people look into Lollipop's bright, intelligent eyes, it seems to change them. For the better."

This is a perfect easy chapter book for a newly independent reader or you could use it as a class or family read aloud book.  Audio sample.

This is a silly, quick read. Definitely a good one for the younger end of the crowd.  The chapters are short and there are plenty of line drawings tucked in throughout the story.  The princess is definitely naughty but being shocked at her behavior is half the fun of the book. The other half, at least if you are six years old, is the fact that pig dung is mentioned more than once.  It’s good for the royal roses, which is critical in winning the Queen over to the Lollipop side. Mother Read at Home

There are big pigs and small pigs, pigs with upright ears and some with droopy ears…But the one that catches the little princess’ fancy is a dirty white skinny pig! “Want that one,” she announces. The King and Queen are in shock! However can they indulge their beloved child this time? But when the pig owner, Johnny Skinner, a long skinny boy, proclaims that his pig is the cleverest brightest pig anyone could have ever seen, there is not much the King and Queen can do to change Penelope’s mind. Little Bookworms

Take a look at the web site of prolific author Dick King Smith (1922-2011).  My favourite books by this UK author are Happy Mouse Day; Smasher; The Hodgeheg; Warlock Watson; A mouse called Wolf; The Finger Eater; and Aristotle.

Here is the sequel to Lady Lollipop: