Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

This is a family favorite. I think it is better for reading out than as a chapter book, because reading it out loud together lets the parents in on the fun.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle uses reverse psychology to change children's bad habits. Of course the situations are exaggerated, but they are funny and the children in the book are encouraged to be pleasant, responsive, responsible people. The parents are funny, too -- the dads are absorbed in work and lesiure pursuits, the moms hyperventilate and call one another about their little ones' character flaws. But Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, who wants everyone to be their best, has clever solutions.

My kids related the best to the Selfishness Cure -- they could really imagine locking all their things away in a hoard. In the end, they "got it" that selfishness is wrong, even though it took quite a bit of ridicule and very obvious peer pressure to change the character of the child in the story.

At the end of every chapter, it's almost a teachable moment for me to share why I'm so proud of my children -- for example, what they have willingly and cheerfully done, and why that makes me so proud. It sinks in very deeply after we have all been laughing together and enjoying one another.

I would give it four-and-a-half stars, but that's not an option. I'd hold half a star back because it is so OBVIOUS... but who am I kidding? I am raising Children of Oblivion, who wander around with garments inside-out or backwards half the time. If it isn't OBVIOUS, they are going to miss it. I'm going to go looking for a Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle that addresses tattling and interrupting. There are four or five books in the series -- I'll be putting them on my wish list.

This is a set of four books: Mrs Piggle Wiggle, Mrs Piggle Wiggle's Farm, Mrs Piggle Wiggle's Magic, and Hello, Mrs Piggle Wiggle. Good way to get the set.

I believe it was my third grade teacher that began reading these to me, and instantly I was hooked. Betty MacDonald is an authoress who can write to both adults and children with fine hilarity, and her character Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle makes Mary Poppins look like a moron. I find her the progeny to the Love and Logic system. The book is filled with multiple stories about kids with various, common behavior problems. Concerned parents call up Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle who then doles out a hilarious but effective cure. It's fairly scripted, but the stories are cute and funny just the same.

For every problem every parent and child has faced over the years, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle has a magnificent solution that will surpass the iterventions of Dr. Spock, Supernanny, or even Dr. Phil!

The characters are so wonderful and the stories so creatively written that children will be spellbound by these books. Even non-readers will be captivated.

Wonderful reading!

If you want good ol' fashioned stories that have upstanding morals, self discipline, and wisdom at their core, then these are the books for you. My grade school teachers read these to us and now I read them to my kids. These are truly timeless stories that should never go out of style. They are great for bedtime as most of them or pretty short.