booksandchow's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like a jerk saying this because I realize the daughter wrote this after her mom died using her notes but it just wasn’t as good as the original. Part of what’s fun about the first books is the crazy misogyny and antiquated threats of corporal punishment and I miss that with the newer book! Haha maybe now I really am a jerk! I guess you can’t write that way nowadays and get away with it- it’s only fun because of when it was written.
Anyway, the extreme cures for the kids’ behavioral issues are still fun. I did also prefer the cures that weren’t magical in the original because they felt more believable. My kids loved the stories though!
Anyway, the extreme cures for the kids’ behavioral issues are still fun. I did also prefer the cures that weren’t magical in the original because they felt more believable. My kids loved the stories though!
maria_3k's review against another edition
1.0
So sad that they messed with a classic. The formula does not translate to modern times, and if you love the first four, stay as far away from this "sequel" as you can.
cafo6's review against another edition
3.0
I love Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and grew up on the four books Betty MacDonald wrote. So did our girls. This one has one story by Betty and several that her daughter wrote, using notes she found after her mother’s death. I want to like it more, but it’s just not as good. A little too much deux et machina (the picky eater) and not enough Mrs. Piggle Wiggle.
But as a woman whose mother has died, I can appreciate what went into writing these stories based on her mother’s words. That can’t have been easy. I think I am most soured by the way she hardly seems to acknowledge her mother, the original author, In her notes at the front of the book.
But as a woman whose mother has died, I can appreciate what went into writing these stories based on her mother’s words. That can’t have been easy. I think I am most soured by the way she hardly seems to acknowledge her mother, the original author, In her notes at the front of the book.
staceyluvsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book because my boy, Jake really liked it. I remember reading Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books when I was his age and enjoyed seeing him getting into it.
kelseyr713's review against another edition
4.0
This one has a good mix of magic and practical cures. I think Betty's daughter did a great job of capturing the spirit of the original stories. There are a couple solutions that are strongly reminiscent of previous cures (Wag coming over to teach teeth brushing just like Lester taught table manners, for example.)
kendranicole28's review against another edition
4.0
It takes a special book series to capture the interest of children across generations, and the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books definitely have that special something. I loved these books as a child and have been delighted by how quickly my six-year-old has taken to the series as well!
Written by Betty MacDonald’s daughter almost fifty years after the creator’s death, Happy Birthday Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle fits right in with the rest of the series, with stories featuring the quirky Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle who works her magic on the neighborhood children, providing cures for their various bad habits—from messiness to poor hygiene to extreme cautiousness. Going into each story, we know the children will be cured of what ails them, but seeing Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s creative (and often absurd) cures in action is humorous, heart-warming, and packed with insights for parents’ and kids’ real-life struggles.
The first chapter in this book (“The Just One More TV Show Cure”) was written by MacDonald herself, and it is undeniably the best story of the book, but the remaining chapters do manage to preserve MacDonald’s vintage charm and tongue-in-cheek humor. With their conversation-worthy subject matter, the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle stories make excellent read-alouds. My son and I enjoyed every story and liked talking about each cure—from how and why it worked, to what WE would do to solve each child’s bad habits.
My Rating: 4 Stars.
This review first appeared on my personal blog, https://kendranicole.net/march-2021-quick-lit/
Please visit my site for more book reviews: https://kendranicole.net/category/book-corner/
Written by Betty MacDonald’s daughter almost fifty years after the creator’s death, Happy Birthday Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle fits right in with the rest of the series, with stories featuring the quirky Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle who works her magic on the neighborhood children, providing cures for their various bad habits—from messiness to poor hygiene to extreme cautiousness. Going into each story, we know the children will be cured of what ails them, but seeing Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle’s creative (and often absurd) cures in action is humorous, heart-warming, and packed with insights for parents’ and kids’ real-life struggles.
The first chapter in this book (“The Just One More TV Show Cure”) was written by MacDonald herself, and it is undeniably the best story of the book, but the remaining chapters do manage to preserve MacDonald’s vintage charm and tongue-in-cheek humor. With their conversation-worthy subject matter, the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle stories make excellent read-alouds. My son and I enjoyed every story and liked talking about each cure—from how and why it worked, to what WE would do to solve each child’s bad habits.
My Rating: 4 Stars.
This review first appeared on my personal blog, https://kendranicole.net/march-2021-quick-lit/
Please visit my site for more book reviews: https://kendranicole.net/category/book-corner/
sarahaf712's review
5.0
I absolutely adored these books when I was younger. Age six or seven, I started reading these books, and I've never stopped loving them. <3!