Pig the star by Aaron Blabey

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Scholastic, 2017. ISBN 9781743812754
(Age: 5+) Highly recommended. Dogs, Stardom, Selfishness. Again, Pig the Pug is showing his true colours in wanting stardom. He and his long suffering friend, Trevor, the sausage dog, go to a studio for a photo shoot. They dress up in a variety of costumes, until Pig becomes convinced that he is the star, and pushes Trevor out of the way. But the photographer zooms in on the cute little dog, causing Pig the Pug to have a fit of despair, pushing things around until the rocket falls on him, damaging more than his ego.
Once again, Blabey has a great deal of fun depicting the two dogs, this time in various costumes that some children and more adults will recognise. From Elvis to Marilyn, Tarzan to Mona Lisa, the finery that covers the grand expanse of Pig the Pug and the long cylindrical Trevor, will create lots of laughter from the readers.
The acrylic used with pen and pencil creates a bright and uncluttered page, each one different from the other, the eye drawn across the illustration to the rhyming lines. Readers will love predicting the last word of each line, and working out what film stars the two dogs are representing as they change their costumes. A wholly fascinating and laugh out loud story, Pig the Pug is just as selfish as ever. And readers everywhere will just adore him.
Fran Knight

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