It's a Big World, Little Pig! by Kristi Yamaguchi

It's a Big World, Little Pig! Reviews

• 
  Sheri

  Cute book but the story arc was not like other picture books. Kristi does know all about skating and competitions, I believe.
• 
  Amber Harrison

  A New York Times bestselling book. It's a big world, little pig takes place in New Pork City and Poppy travels to Paris to fulfill her dream of ice skating and meets a lot of new friends a long the way. Great for having kids tell/ draw what their dream is or where they would like to travel.
• 
  Abigail Laura

  What a beautiful book!! I loved the message of becoming friends with people from all around the world and following your dreams. I also loved that it was written by Kristi Yamaguchi whom I loved watching skate when I was a kid. My boys (8&9) enjoyed the sweet story as well!
• 
  Melissa

  Fantastic for going new places... and pretty great for this first week of school too!
• 
  Julie

  Adorably Adventuress!
  Great confidence boost for kids too!
• 
  Cyndy

  A sweet story about being open to going new places and meeting new people.
• 
  KP

  Synopsis from Amazon.com:
  
  Poppy, the adorable, persistent, dreaming-big pig, has a new adventure in store for her: the World Games ice-skating championship in Paris! Poppy is nervous about meeting so many new people in a new place. But, ever courageous and supported by her family (Emma, too!), Poppy embarks upon this exciting adventure head-on. She meets a snowboarding Panda, a Maltese who skies, and two fellow skaters, a Crane and a Kangaroo. Poppy begins to realize that although these animals look different, act different, and are from different places, they are all the same at heart. They all smile in the same language!
  
  
  I had high hopes for Kristi Yamaguchi’s It’s a Big World, Little Pig! The cover looked cute, and it’s published by a wonderful publisher, Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. It’s also the second book featuring the main character, Poppy, a little pig with big hopes and dreams. Tim Bowers illustrated this picture book, and that is where I can give the most praise. His pictures are soft and vibrant at the same time. I love that the animals he chose to draw really are the animals you would find in each country. The story line has a lot of potential, and if you have a budding ice skater, he or she will probably love it. One of the things I had a problem with was just how wordy the book was on each page. Now, I’ve read a lot of picture books. I’m a mom as well as a book blogger after all. Wordy picture books don’t scare me or usually turn me off. That is…IF the words really seem to steer the story along. There were some pages of this book that I felt like I was plugging along to get to the next part. Then, the next spread would speed me up just to turn the page and find myself plugging along in the story again. It was a bit inconsistent. While I know there are children who will appreciate and like this book, especially the illlustrations, there were a few things that I struggled with. It is due to release on March 6, 2012. I give this book 3 out of 5 books.
  
  
• 
  Jessica Harrison

  
  Review via Cracking the Cover
  
  Poppy the ice skating pig is back, and she’s just as charming as she was a year ago.
  
  The creation of Olympic gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi, Poppy is a persistent pig who, through a lot of hard work, became a star on the ice. In this follow-up, Poppy receives an invitation to reach for the stars and compete in the World Games.
  
  The Games are being held in Paris, a long way from Poppy’s home. But Poppy knows her friends and family will be with her every step of the way. The World Athlete Village is full of athletes from all over the world, many of them just as nervous as Poppy. Turns out everyone smiles in the same language!
  
  As with “Dream Big, Little Pig!” “It’s a Big World, Little Pig!” is an upbeat book about positive pig power. Instead of the competition of the World Games, Kristi focuses on friendship and facing fears. There’s nothing about winning or losing, just performing to the best of your ability, which is a fine lesson for young children.
  
  Most of all, “It’s a Big World, Little Pig!” is a fun read. The illustrations are bright and bold, and all of the characters have great personality.
• 
  Jennifer

  
  I loved Kristi Yamaguchi as an Olympian and had previously read the first Pig book with my niece. So I was curious to see what was in store for Poppy the pig.
  
  I think that children's stories should be interesting for both the kid and the adult reading it. I thought It's a Big World, Little Pig had a good message. It was interesting to me to see all these animal athletes at the World Games in Paris.
  
  It's definitely interesting for the adult reading knowing that Kristi was an Olympic athlete. So it's cute to see Poppy as a pig skater (knowing Kristi was a skater).
  
  It was a cute story and enjoyable. It was nice to get to see her get to visit Paris after the competition. Although throughout the book it seemed like she was alone. And then all of a sudden her parents showed up to visit Paris with her. But overall cute book.
  
  
  Here are my 6 year old niece's thoughts:
  
  It was good. I liked the book. I liked how she didn't get nervous and made friends. I liked that she got to see her parents. And they got to go all over Paris - and see the Eiffel Tower (that was very cool). 5/5 stars.
  
  
  
  
  I received this ebook from netgalley from Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. Thanks.
• 
  Glenajo

  Great for Inspiration
  
  Poppy, the little pig is a talented skater that makes it to the World Games after much hard work. The games are far away, and Poppy is scared, but her friends and family are encourage her and give her great advice. When she arrives at the games in France, she learns that it is fun to make friends and competitors from all over the world want to make friends, too. She has a wonderful time meeting people and sharing with them.
  
  Kristi Yamaguchi relies on her experiences as an international competitor to relate the fear and excitement of venturing out into the unknown. The words are very encouraging and motivating for the young people as they attempt new experiences. The illustrations put the story over the top, including the precious pictures of Poppy in her competition outfits and a parade of other animal competitors all set in France. Very cute story and one parents can share with children to encourage them in new experiences. Librarians could use this read aloud to stimulate discussions of fear of new experiences such as the fist day of school, etc.
  
  Received Galley from NetGalley.com
  
• 
  Andrea

  [This review also appears on Andi's Kids Books.]
  
  Poppy is a pig who has dreams of being a star on the ice. All of her friends and family encourage her to do so and she gets invited to the World Games. Poppy is nervous to go all the way around the world. When in the Athlete's Village, she is worried that she isn't going to be able to make any new friends nor understand all of the different languages. She quickly befriends a Chinese skater named Li. She meets all kinds of different animals from around the world, sharing their customs and exchanging phrases in their native languages. It's all about being supportive of children's dreams and making friends around the world. The message is, “We all smile in the same language!”
  
  You can feel Kristi's passion for her sport and love for people all around the world in her book. This is one that would go well with my multicultural collection.
  
  The adorable illustrations remind me of Richard Scarry at times. They are simple and sweet. I really liked it.
  
  I received an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
• 
  Danica Midlil

  The best part of this book are the illustrations, but they don't save the story from being saccharine.
  "You Go, Girl!" Ugh. Gag! Too trite for me.
  I really dislike that the book shows figure skating as all about her frilly costume, but NONE of the hard work, strength, or endurance that it took for the pig to get invited to the world games. Lame! The athletic stuff wasn't girly enough? "She dreamed of being an ice-skating star and then she made it happen!" Oh. That was all it took, huh? The process deserves one entire sentence in the whole book. This is why parents spend thousands of dollars each year on equipment that is never used by their children. Children aren't shown how much Practice goes into becoming good, let alone Awesome, at sports and hobbies. I think Kristi Yamaguchi should have known better. Her sport is HARD and that's what makes her level of skill so impressive to children and adults. It's not the sparkly costume.
  
• 
  Margaret Chind

  Last year I fell in love with
  Dream Big, Little Pig! such a beautiful book with a great message. Now I can enjoy it all over again and add more to the encouragement for my girls. While before I was all excited about the pink and purple, this time I'm just as happy about the teal and purple. I cannot speak to the sparkily as I have not seen the book in person yet (just an electronic copy on loan), but the story is worth it. The encouragement within these pages is great and I'm delighted that Kristi is writing such stories to share.
  
  *Thanks to Sourcebooks for loaning an eBook through NetGalley for review.*
  
  posted:
  http://wp.me/pYHD5-3pt
• 
  Kathy

  Loved the illustrations in this book and it has a great message.
  
  This is the story of a little pig going off to a skating championship in Paris. She's nervous and unsure but along the way overcomes her fears, makes some friends and helps others out.
  
  I've not read the first book Dream Big Little Pig and will check to see if my library has it.
  
  Just one thing - It seemed like Poppy was all alone on this trip and had to figure things out by herself. When her parents were there to congratulate her after her performance my daughter said "I thought she was by herself". I'd got the same impression while reading the book, but perhaps parents aren't allowed in the Athlete's Village so she wouldn't have had them with her?
  
  Source: Netgalley
  
• 
  Karyn The Pirate

  Poppy the litte pig who dreams big is finally an ice skating star. Now she follows her dream to Paris, France to compete in the World Games. While in Paris, Poppy must overcome her fears of being so far from home in a new place. But she soon learns that although we may not speak the same, we all smile in the same language.
  This is a sequel to the book "Dream Big Little Pig by Kristi Yamaguchi. It is very nice with cute illustrations. Who doesn't love a pig in a bow? It was a little light and fluffy for my personal taste, but the message of being accepting of new people and places is a good one.
• 
  JenniferJ

  Awww I just jumped at the chance to read this one not only because of the beautiful illustrations but because I am a sucker for Little Piggies! I know! I know! I am strange but I been collecting figurines and items with little piggies for ages.
  
  With my confession made this story was really adorable with Little Pig venturing off to a new country to compete in the ice skating competitions. She was very excited and scared all at once but she had big dreams and didn't let her fear hold her back.
  
  The underlying meaning I got from the story was to follow your dreams and don't let fear hold you back!
• 
  Kristi Bernard

  When you dream big just remember it could come true. Although it could be scary, you must follow your heart. Poppy the pig loved to ice skate. She was so good that she was invited to skate at the World Games in Paris.
  
  “Paris was far away from Poppy's home in New Pork city. Poppy was excited to see new places, but she was scared about being so far from home.”
  
  Once Poppy arrived she began to make new friends from all around the world. She remembered the advice of her best friend Emma. She told her, “everyone smiles in the same language!”
  
• 
  Michelle Brosi

  A sequel to "Dream Pig, Little Pig!" this book was a lot more fun for me. While the first one dealt with Poppy's insecurities and discovering her talent, this one deals with her journey to a World championship in Paris. She worries about making friends, but "everyone smiles in the same language" and soon learns to skate from the heart and remember the love & support from her family and the new friendships she makes. I love the illustrations of different animals, but also the way they greet one another in other languages. A really sweet story.
• 
  Paul Hankins

  Poppy's invited to go to a whole new country to skate. This has her both excited and nervous. Who will she meet when she gets to France? Focus on openness to new relationships introducing self and receiving introductions. New experiences. Illustrations are really the focus of this book in my opinion. The Olympic connections may be a little too heavy for older readers. I'd like to see what younger readers and teachers of younger readers think about this book as it releases.
• 
  Adrienne

  Former skating star Yamaguchi has written a story about an ice-skating little pig named Poppy, who is invited to compete in a world competition in Paris. Poppy is worried about going so far from home and whether she'll make any friends, but she quickly finds that the people she meets are quite friendly and she has a lot in common with them.
  
  This book is adorable! The story is sweet and the illustrations are completely cute. A great book to share with children.
• 
  Crystal

  This is a sweet book about a figure skating pig. The thought of her family and friends helps her through her fears.
  
  While she is nervous about going to another country and meeting many people, she learns that a smile can communicate even when you speak another language.
  
  Simplistic storyline, but young readers that love figure skating will likely be pleased.
• 
  Moorhead Public Library

  Poppy always had the dream to be a figure skating star and she finally has the opportunity in Paris. However, seeing new places and meeting new people can be scary. This book first caught my eye with its glitter and its author Olympic figure skating champion, Kristi Yamaguchi. Her book tells us to smile and dream big!
• 
  Mary Ann

  "We all smile in the same language." Kristi Yamaguchi uses these words with Little Pig to help her overcome her fear of a world competition in Paris. These seem to be words that our whole world would benefit from. A smile costs nothing money wise, but we might have to give up some negative thinking!!
• 
  Maria

  I enjoyed this more than the original. In this story, as the Little Pig gets invited to join the World Games, we join her as her world expands. She travels to a new country, pushes through her nervousness, and makes new friends from around the globe. (I can't help but picture my globe-trotting nieces and may have to find time to read to them.)
• 
  Satia

  Bibi wouldn't sit through this one. I don't know if she's old enough (at 4) to enjoy this book as much as she might when she's older. For more:
  
  
  http://satiasreviews.blogspot.com/201...