Richard Scarry pig book identification filter...

February 7, 2011 2:51 PM

Richard Scarry pig book identification filter...

I'm trying to locate the Richard Scarry book about a family of pigs which specifically had the line "Don't those silly piglets know a haircut doesn't hurt?"

If the phrasing was different, it certainly wasn't *much* different; that particular phrase stuck with me for some reason.

I think the book was specifically about the pig family (the father pig was called Pa Pickles) rather than them just being incidental characters among loads of others. I think it followed the family through various activities through the day.

This is from my childhood in the UK in the 80s, if that helps.

posted by Dali Atomicus to Society & Culture (11 answers total)

Have you checked "What Do People Do All Day"? I can't remember it exactly, but I think that includes a haircut.
posted by KathrynT at 3:12 PM on February 7, 2011

It's not in 'What do people do all day'. I didn't think it was so I just went and double checked. I asked my kids and none of us could identify it from our collection.
posted by kch at 3:37 PM on February 7, 2011

Could it be Pig Will and Pig Won't? I had it as a child in Australia in the early 80s.
posted by Georgina at 4:12 PM on February 7, 2011

FWIW, I remember a tusked boar in a barbershop chair and a bib, getting a haircut. It was from a dictionary, and I think a similar line might have been used to set up the definition of "brave." The page was set two columns per page, with four or five pictures/definitions per column.
posted by MonkeyToes at 4:16 PM on February 7, 2011

Also FWIW, the tusked boar is in his Storybook Dictionary ("brave: Brambles is very brave. He is not afraid to have his hair cut by the barber. He knows that he will be even handsomer when the barber has finished").
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:21 PM on February 7, 2011

I don't have an answer for you, but a number of Scarry books (notably, for me, Best Storybook Ever) have been pretty radically altered from their original versions to the modern versions. I think its likely that its from a vintage edition, so you might want to try used bookstores or other sources of vintage editions.
posted by anastasiav at 4:23 PM on February 7, 2011

That cover looked really unfamiliar, so I searched further. I read the story of Pig Will and Pig Won't as a part of this anthology: Richard Scarry's Please and Thank You Book. It was almost certainly a UK edition since most books sold in Australia at the time were imported from the UK.
posted by Georgina at 4:23 PM on February 7, 2011

I don't remember that specific line. Usually Pickles is a boy pig's first name.

There's Ma Pig, Pa Pig, the Piglets, and Pickes in the dictionary. In the Best Word Book Ever they're Father Pig, Mother Pig, Annie Pig, Susan Pig, and Peter Pig in the newer edition, and just Father Pig, Mother Pig, and Peter Pig in the older one. In Cars and Trucks etc they're Ma and Pa and Penny and Pickles.

We have a lot of Richard Scarry books around here, in a few different editions. If you have any other memories of the book, let me know and I'll be happy to flip through them.
posted by The corpse in the library at 4:33 PM on February 7, 2011

I have this book at home. It used to belong to my wife who had it as a child in the 80s in the UK and we got it out again recently for our 3 year old.

I think it's just called "Pig Family". I will check when I get home.
posted by Jim H at 4:06 AM on February 8, 2011

Best answer: Is this your book?

I took a photo of the page where the piglets get a haircut.
posted by Jim H at 5:43 AM on February 8, 2011 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Jim H has it exactly! Thank you, especially for taking the trouble to take a picture! You totally made my afternoon after a crappy day at work. And thanks everyone else, your efforts are awesome.
posted by Dali Atomicus at 10:13 AM on February 8, 2011