Garth Pig Steals the Show

The popular porcine family ( Mrs. Pig Gets Cross ; Garth Pig and the Icecream Lady ) forms a band and makes its musical debut. Realizing they need a large animal to play ``the big, deep things,'' the Pigs advertise for a sousaphone player. Readers will become suspicious far sooner than do the musicians when a hairy, long-nosed creature who hides behind her instrument case offers to play for free. During the much-heralded first performance, Garth Pig gets sucked into the bowl of the great instrument and only a sousaphone solo (ingeniously engineered by brother William) can save him. With ``a deafening blast,'' Garth is catapulted across the stage and into stardom (for ``the audience thought it was part of the act, and there was a thunder of applause''). Though somewhat wordy for a simple outfox-the-fox (or wolf) tale, the story contains the strong familial elements and gentle humor that fans of the previous Pig stories have come to expect. As a bonus, Rayner's typically cheerful pen-and-wash illustrations include individual depictions of various band instruments. Ages 4-8. (May)