When Pigs Fly! Dream Big, Little Pig by Kristi Yamaguchi

POPPY WAS A PIG WITH DREAMS.

AND SHE WAS A PIG WHO DREAMED BIG.

SHE WANTED TO BE A STAR!

But being a star requires that Poppy pick a career in which she can star.

Prima ballerina? A "toddlin', waddlin' pig?" Poppy falls and fails the tryouts.

A swingin' songstress? Poppy can't carry a tune in a tin bucket.

A posh supermodel? Poppy is just not built to be a slinky, glittery runway celebrity.

Then Poppy catches a glimpse of a girl executing a spin on the ice rink in Rockefeller Plaza.
"Do what you love," her mother has said, and Poppy is in love with the ice. She laces up some skates and stays at it all day until she is able to skate across the rink without falling. In the days to come she learns that she also loves to practice--and practice she does. She's not perfect, but every day her work pays off, and she soon is able to twirl and spin and jump.

BEFORE SHE KNEW IT, SKATERS WERE STOPPING TO WATCH POPPY PRACTICE. SHE EVEN HAD HER PICTURE IN THE NEWSPAPER.

POPPY FELT LIKE A STAR!

The sky's the limit for a pig who dreams and works at it, and in former Olympic skater Kristi Yamaguchi's book, Dream Big, Little Pig! (Jabberwocky, 2011) Poppy the pig is ready to strap on her parachute and take to the air and sky dive next. Illustrator Tim Bowers provides the cutesy pink frou frou, and Yamaguchi, whose successful stint on "Dancing with the Stars" proves her own vocational versatility, takes on a new career herself as picture book author.

Nice on Ice: Dream Big, Little Pig by Kristi Yamaguchi

POPPY WAS A PIG WITH DREAMS

SHE WANTED TO BE A STAR.

Poppy is perky and Poppy is perpetually optimistic, but she could use a bit of career counseling.

Despite the fact that she's a "pot-bellied, waddling, toddling pig" of unquestionably portly proportions, she persists in her dream of performing in the public eye. First she fixates on a career as a ballerina. Her parents and grandparents cheer her on, but her teacher catches her on to her clumsiness right away and dismisses her with a brisk "Dancing is NOT for you!"

Undaunted, Poppy proceeds to try for stardom as a glamorous chanteuse, with similar results. And then, in a career choice which really plays against type, Poppy turns to dreams of being a glitzy, high-fashion runway model in, ahem, New Pork City. That one's a show-stopper, too, but not in the way Poppy hoped.

But you have to give Poppy points for perseverance. This time she turns to figure skating.

I'D LIKE TO BE A SPECTACULAR ICE-SKATING STAR!"

And in the best tradition of that Liitle Engine That Could and all those "I'm gonna to be a star," show biz movies, persistance and practice makes, if not "perfect," at least pretty good, and after many falls and failures, Poppy gets her moment in the spotlight, swirling and twirling to the cheers of the crowd, including her supportive family and friends. Kristi Yamaguchi's top-selling Dream Big, Little Pig! (Jabberwocky, 2011) is an appealing little picture book pointing to an alternate path for those aspiring stars who find ballet just a bit, um, too-too, and vamping it up on stage or on the runway just not their style. To steal a quote, "Ice is nice and will suffice."