The author and illustrator of the children’s book, Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure, was in Mountain Lake to share his sweet swine story with youngsters – and sprinkled additional toppings into the one-of-a-kind program.
It was Derek Anderson of Minneapolis who brought this storybook show to the “old gym” at Mountain Lake Public School. His rapt audience included area preschoolers and accompanying adults, students and teachers in grades kindergarten-through-three at Mountain Lake Public Elementary School (MLES) and members and teachers from the Acacia (grades one and two) class from Mountain Lake Christian (MLC) Elementary.
Anderson read from giant-sized pages of his book, Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure – shared why, as a writer and book illustrator he has “The Greatest Job in the World,” got everybody dancing to original music by Tom Lieberman and laughing with the goofy props that punctuated the lyrics and led a drawing lesson demonstrating how he uses the geometric shapes of circles, squares and triangles to create the pigs in his book.
About the 10 pigs in Anderson’s book
In Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure, one very happy pig settles into a bubble bath in a bathtub that’s just the right size for him and his rubber duckie. To his dismay, a second pig with a big beach ball jumps in to join him. Number two is followed by pig number three, dressed for adventure in a snorkeling mask and flippers. The pigs keep coming. How many can possibly squeeze into one bathtub? How will pig number one ever get the others to leave? When a wolf enters the scene, everything changes in this tale with a clever, suspenseful twist . . .
About the author, illustrator
Derek Anderson of Minneapolis is the New York Times bestselling artist of more than 20 books for children, six of which he wrote. His published works include the Little Quack books, written by Lauren Thompson; the Hot Rod Hamster series, written by Cynthia Lord; and his own Gladys Goes Out to Lunch. Anderson is especially proud of his book Ten Pigs: An Epic Bath Adventure, which was published in 2015 by Orchard Books. It wasn’t easy to corral 10 wiggly pigs into a crowded bathtub with their snorkels, sandcastles and surfboards. Anderson can regularly be found speaking in schools, libraries and at conferences all over the United States. You can learn much more about Anderson and his books on his website at www.DerekAnderson.net.
About Once Upon a Reader
Once Upon a Reader is a Minnesota one-book program statewide early literacy initiative launched in 2014 and designed for pre-K children and their families. Each year, communities and public libraries in participating regions of Minnesota are united through programming based on a book with a Minnesota artist connection.
The focus of the The Traveling Trunk Show program is to promote children’s literature and encourage families to talk, sing, read, write, and play together – five important practices that build early literacy skills.
Once Upon a Reader is sponsored by the Council of Regional Public Library System Administrators (CRPLSA) and funded by the Minnesota Arts Council Heritage Fund through the Clean Water Land and Legacy Amendment. The program is coordinated by Library Strategies, a consulting group of The Friends of the Saint Paul Public Library.
Beginning in March and continuing through October, Anderson, has been traveling across the state offering educational and arts-focused, Ten Pigs-themed “trunk shows” in each participating regional library system.
For more information, contact Mountain Lake Public Library at (507)427-2506. To learn more about Once Upon a reader, visit the website at www.onceuponareader.org.
Ten pigs – and more – photo gallery
