Pig Kahuna Pirates! (Pig Kahuna #2)

Porcine brothers Fergus and Dink are back in this sequel to 2011's Pig Kahuna, and younger brother Dink is having a bad day at the beach. The water is frigid, sand gets in his food, and a giant wave leaves him covered in the detritus of the sea. Luckily, Fergus knows how to improve his brother's mood, letting Dink be the captain of the pirate ship he's sculpted out of sand. "You're a perfect pirate, Dirk!" Fergus tells his livid, seaweed-swathed brother. "You even have the stink eye!" Sattler's thickly painted acrylics easily conjure roiling water, cloud-swept skies, and the turbulent emotions of one small pig. Ages 3-6. Agent: Anna Olswanger, Liza Dawson Associates. (Apr.)

PreS-K—Fergus likes swimming in the ocean, but his young brother, Dink, who wakes up from his nap out of sorts, finds it too cold. He's in a horrible mood, and Fergus can't seem to cheer him up. But then he digs a pirate hat out of the sand, and the fun begins. Even Dink can't stay grumpy once he gets pulled into his big brother's swashbuckling game of make-believe. Like Pig Kahuna (Bloomsbury, 2011), this is a character-driven story that focuses on the playful relationship between the siblings. Sattler excels at creating just the right facial expressions to match the humor of the text and provide insight into the brotherly dynamic. The painterly illustrations, a combination of acrylic and colored pencil, feature vast blue skies and dark-blue ocean waves rendered with broad brush strokes. The detail and line of the pigs make them pop to the forefront of the summery seaside scene. The large font and short sentences make this book easy to share with a group, and the subject matter and the single plotline are a great match for a preschool audience.—Amy Seto Musser, Denver Public Library

"Sattler offers a fresh and clever take on a perennially popular theme . . . Here's hoping that this welcome return presages plenty of additional adventures." —"Kirkus Reviews," starred review

"Sattler's thickly painted acrylics easily conjure roiling water, cloud-swept skies, and the turbulent emotions of one small pig." —"Publishers Weekly"

"Sattler excels at creating just the right facial expressions to match the humor of the text and provide insight into the brotherly dynamic." —"School Library Journal"

"Together words and pictures create an utterly engaging picture-book experience—eye-catching, thought-provoking and just plain fun." —"Kirkus Reviews," starred review, on "Pig Kahuna"

"The full-color acrylic and colored pencil illustrations have a sketchy, active feel that bounces merrily along and keeps the focus squarely on the expressive porcine pair." —"School Library Journal," starred review, on "Pig Kahuna"

"You almost hear the seashore when you read the book: Now that's a summer read." —"Time Out New York Kids "on "Pig Kahuna"