Oh What a Mess Rlb

Franklin's family lives in, well, a pigsty. As a meticulously neat piglet, Franklin finds his family's slovenly ways a great embarrassment, and he dares not encourage visitors. At school, his brothers' unruly antics further humiliate him. All this changes when Franklin wins first prize for his painting of a rainbow. His father chooses the perfect spot to hang the picture, but Franklin asks him if he could first wash the wall. The entire family dives into a housecleaning spree and the result is a home worthy of Franklin's masterpiece. Friends even visit, and the family enjoys staying clean (except for an occasional mud bath). Wilhelm's book plunges right to the center of the concerns of children who sometimes feel like the odd member out among the people in their families. His text and watercolors capture the charms of this porcine clan both before and after their radical reformation. Ages 3-6. (May)