Peter's pet pig was sometimes "bad" and sometimes "good" but to Peter the pig was wonderful. Peter is a good model, showing that just because someone/something is exhibiting an unwanted behavior does not deem someone/something as bad. The illustrations were appealing and cute! ( )

Peter wants a pet pig - one that is not too good and not too bad - so he writes to the farmer with this request. In return, he is sent a piglet who is indeed sometimes well behaved and sometimes stubborn and messy, giving Peter grief at times and joy as well.

This lesser known book by Goodnight Moon's Margaret Wise Brown is a marvelous gem. The storyline is sweet and identifiable to both kids and adults -- after all, who hasn't sometimes been bad and sometimes been good? The version I had is from 2002 and features charming illustrations by the award-winning Dan Yaccarino. His pictures are great as they are colorful and bright with a bit of a retro feel that goes along perfectly with the text, which occasionally uses some old-fashioned language like "automobile."

I very much enjoyed this book myself and read it with a number of young children who all liked it as well. It's a good title for reading aloud, as there are an array of characters you can give various voices to as well as a text that lends itself to an easy, almost singsong reading. I highly recommend it for just a fun read or when you want to have a talk about behavior. ( )