Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
by Betty MacDonald
|
List Price: Our Price: $2.62 You Save: $3.37 (56%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Book Review: If Only Problems Went Away This Easily
Summary: 5 Stars
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is the neighbor everyone wishes they had. She's the widow of a pirate, lives in an upside down house, and is always ready for a tea party with freshly baked cookies. She's such an expert on kids that parents have started calling on her wisdom to cure their kids when they start misbehaving. And whether it's making chores into a game or getting kids to take a bath, she's sure to have the answer to make everyone happy again.I loved these books as a kid, and this book is just as fun now. The stories fall into a predictable pattern, but that hardly diminishes their enjoyment. Each chapter is a self-contained story, so it's easy to read just a little bit at a time. Unlike other books in the series that feature magic cures, these stories feature what I recognize now as psychology to cure the kids. The humor comes from the exaggeration of the problem and what the child goes through to get "cured." For example, the parent's fighting in the "Fighter Quarrelers Cure" or the tiny dishes in the "Slow Eater Tiny Bite Taker Cure." Heck, by the time the "Never Want to go to Bedders" are cured, they are actually begging to go to bed at their normal bedtime.
Reading the book as an adult, I got a few good laughs out of the names of the parent's friends. I also found it interesting that very few of the adults have an identity apart from their kids. Then again, as a kid's novel, it presents a kid's eye view of the world. I hope these books continue to entertain for years to come.
Book Review: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Mrs. Grassfeather, Mrs. Ragbag...Where does it end?
Summary: 4 Stars
This book is great. If you ever have a problem with your child's behavior, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle is the one to call. Her outrageous solutions to common child behavior ailments seem to work well. In most cases she recommends letting the child wallow in his or her own awful behavior until rock bottom is reached. Only then is the child aware of the real-life consequences for bad behavior.
A perfect book for teaching personal responsibility. Not to mention it's filled with fun names like Mrs. Moohead, Mrs. Broomrack, and Mrs. Crankminor. My only complaint is Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle herself is present for only a very small percentage of the book, and the book ends without even going back to her. I was thinking (and hoping) she'd be on every page.
This goes to show you, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, who loves kids more than anybody, still lets them bring on their own suffering when it comes to correcting a major attitude problem. If a kid doesn't want to eat...shoot, let the kid starve. If the kid doesn't want to pick up toys, then let the kid get trapped in clutter. Show kids what it's like to have to clean up their own mess instead of cleaning up their mess for them all the time. (This doesn't apply to diaper changes of course.)
In addition to the elaborate Piggle-Wiggle cures, the kids in the book get a spanking from their parents every now and then, especially after playing around with the laundry chute. Sorry kids, can't do that.
Book Review: three cheers for the radish cure!
Summary: 5 Stars
My daughter was as charmed by these stories as I was back in the day--we started reading them aloud when she was six and worked our way happily through the whole series of four. We've all wished for magic potions to fix our problems, but most of these cures rely on Mrs. P.W.'s imagination, humor and common-sense more than just magic ( the Radish Cure for the girl who wouldn't take a bath was maybe the strangest but also the best). Everyone--parents and kid--ends up happier after Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle steps in. The portrayal of 1950's domestic life is sly and funny but also sympathetic--the jaunty, distracted fathers who leave for the office each morning, the weary mothers obsessed with their children's behavior, housekeeping, and creating elaborate meals. The descriptions of breakfasts alone are enough to make you nostalgic--eggs, porridge, bacon--on a school day!--as is the general picture of pre-TV neighborhood life, treehouses, go-carts, games of kick-the-can and parcheesi. One of those rare books that's equally fun for parents and kids, and the Hilary Knight illustrations are perfection. Let's hope they never make a film version.Book Review: Excellent useable, humorous kid 'cures'!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Reading some of the reviews of Betty MacDonalds Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books it is 'too bad' that some reviewers look at the writings soooo seriously. They were meant, I am sure, to be read in a humorous, yet also helpful manner if the reader would like; not to be read and 'analyzed'!! Readers should take what they want from the writings but in a light-hearted way.I work as a psychotherapist. MacDonalds humorous writing and 'cures' have been linked to the way Milton Erickson M.D., a psychiatrist who spent much time with people helping them overcome difficulties in their lives, saw the world and life. He often 'assigned' homework for individuals and families having serious difficulties. Many of the 'assignments' were similar to to Mrs. Piggle-Wiggles 'cures'; and they worked!!
For anyone who enjoys reading these stories, I would recommend they look up Milton Erickson and Jay Hayley's writings(which are enjoyable to read) and you will see the similarities.....some difficult, serious problems resolved with 'serious humorous' 'cures'.
Book Review: Very Fun Book to Read
Summary: 4 Stars
I first read Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle in the forth grade, checking it and the other Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books out of my school library. I found Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle very fun to read, and really enjoyed the rest of the books as well. I recently purchased it from Amazon for my 9 year old daughter who loves to read. I took the time to re-read the book before I gave it to her, and it is interesting to read it as an adult. I still found it fun, especially the last chapter, the Fighter-Quarrelers Cure, which I had completely forgotten. (I must say, I am tempted to try the cure one of these days) My daughter seems to agree that this is a fun book, as she had two chapters read before breakfast this morning. I am looking forward to ordering the rest of the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books, for myself almost as much as for my daughter!UPDATE~ My daughter finished the book in two days. She loved it and couldn't put it down until she was finished. If you have a child who is a reluctant reader, give Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle a try.