The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of Pig by Emer Stamp, 177 pp, RL 3
The farmyard humor in The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of Pig by Emer Stamp made me laugh out loud the way that watching any episode of Shuan the Sheep does and the potty humor made me laugh out loud the way any kind of fart in general does. While I am definitely embarrassed to admit that farts and fart jokes still crack me up, I think that I am not alone in this. I also think that there is a right way and a wrong way to employ (deploy?) fart humor and, among many other fantastic things, Emer Stamp uses her fart humor in just the right way in her debut novel, The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of Pig. When Pig finds a "little book and a chewed old pen" in the garbage heap, he begins keeping a diary, written in Pig and the smelly story begins!
But Stamp's humor is more than fart (and poop) jokes. When the EVIL CHICKENS approach Pig to pilot their trocket, Pig notes that they speak Pig "very slowly and very loudly with a silly posh-sounding accent" that makes him want to giggle. My favorite part of The Unbelievable Top Secret Diary of Pig comes when Pig is given a taste of Cow's milk by Farmer. It is so delicious he says, "if I could milk Cow myself, I would be in heaven. In fact, even betters, I would be a cow and then I would be able to milk myself all day long. Only I would have to be a cow with very bendy lags, so as they could bend around and touch my udders."
Stamp grew up on a farm in Devon, England and her first ambition was to be a vet, although she couldn't score good enough grades in biology. Next, she pursued a degree in designing record covers - just as records were giving way to CDs. While she ended up with a career in advertising, I think that her writing debut
reflects both her interest in animals and graphic design. While the
book design itself is by Ellen Duda, Stamp's illustrations are perfectly
matched to the personality of Pig, the narrator/star/diary author and
add so much to the book and make for a really excellent website, The Top-Secret Website of Pig where there are some great activities, including the challenge of translating Pig.
Be sure to check out the book trailer and farm visit with Emer Stamp below!
Be sure to check out the book trailer and farm visit with Emer Stamp below!
Source: Review Copy