Moose's best friend, Hildy, is thrilled when a farmer invites her to enter a Pig Pickin' contest down South. She thinks it's a beauty contest. Is the Pig Pickin' really a beauty contest--or is Hildy going to become the barbecue? Moose uses his wits to save his best friend from a terrible fate in this funny story about friendship and loyalty.

Read Along or Enhanced eBook: A clever, singing rabbit eats his way through the pea patch until Little Girl snatches him up and he is soon singing a new tune as he plans his escape. With a nod to Brer Rabbit, Pickin Peas is adapted from two folktales collected in Alabama and Virginia. The lively storytelling voice of award-winning author Margaret Read MacDonald, combined with Pat Cummings' bright, bold contemporary illustrations, makes this timeless battle-of-wits an instant classic.

“When it comes to swining and dining in Louisiana, Dixie Poché has it covered. From snout to tail . . . it’s all here.” —Chef John D. Folse, Louisiana’s “Culinary Ambassador to the World” Southwest Louisiana is famous for time-honored gatherings that celebrate its French Acadian heritage. And the culinary star of these gatherings? That’s generally the pig. Whether it’s a boucherie, the Cochon de Lait in Mansura or Chef John Folse’s Fete des Bouchers, where an army of chefs steps back three hundred years to demonstrate how to make blood boudin and smoked sausage, ever-resourceful Cajuns use virtually every part of the pig in various savory delights. Author Dixie Poché traverses Cajun country to dive into the recipes and stories behind regional specialties such as boudin, cracklings, gumbo and hogs head cheese. From the Smoked Meats Festival in Ville Platte to Thibodaux’s Bourgeois Meat Market, where miles of boudin have been produced since 1891, this is a mouthwatering dive into Cajun devotion to the pig. “Dixie Poche, author of two other looks at the state’s rich culinary traditions, Louisiana Sweets and Classic Eateries of Cajun Country, takes a deep dive into the connection of Louisiana’s unique people and food with the noble hog.” —Houma Today “The book takes a nostalgic look at visiting old-time ‘mom and pop’ Cajun meat markets and provides a behind-the-scenes look at the many dishes that made them famous. It also serves as a travel guide to many local eateries and festivals in which the culinary star is the pig.” —The Advocate

Steven Raichlen, a national barbecue treasure and author of The Barbecue! Bible, How to Grill, and other books in the Barbecue! Bible series, embarks on a quest to find the soul of American barbecue, from barbecue-belt classics-Lone Star Brisket, Lexington Pulled Pork, K.C. Pepper Rub, Tennessee Mop Sauce-to the grilling genius of backyards, tailgate parties, competitions, and local restaurants. In 450 recipes covering every state as well as Canada and Puerto Rico, BBQ USA celebrates the best of regional live-fire cooking. Finger-lickin' or highfalutin; smoked, rubbed, mopped, or pulled; cooked in minutes or slaved over all through the night, American barbecue is where fire meets obsession. There's grill-crazy California, where everything gets fired up - dates, Caesar salad, lamb shanks, mussels. Latin-influenced Florida, with its Chimichurri Game Hens and Mojo-Marinated Pork on Sugar Cane. Maple syrup flavors the grilled fare of Vermont; Wisconsin throws its kielbasa over the coals; Georgia barbecues Vidalias; and Hawaii makes its pineapples sing. Accompanying the recipes are hundreds of tips, techniques, sidebars, and pit stops. It's a coast-to-coast extravaganza, from soup (grilled, chilled, and served in shooters) to nuts (yes, barbecued peanuts, from Kentucky).

Among the first creatures to help humans attain the goal of having enough to eat was the pig, which provided not simply enough, but general abundance. Domesticated early and easily, herds grew at astonishing rates (only rabbits are more prolific). Then, as people spread around the globe, pigs and traditions went with them, with pigs making themselves at home wherever explorers or settlers carried them. Today, pork is the most commonly consumed meat in the world—and no one else in the world produces more pork than the American Midwest. Pigs and pork feature prominently in many cuisines and are restricted by others. In the U.S. during the early1900s, pork began to lose its preeminence to beef, but today, we are witnessing a resurgence of interest in pork, with talented chefs creating delicacies out of every part of the pig. Still, while people enjoy “pigging out,” few know much about hog history, and fewer still know of the creatures’ impact on the world, and specifically the Midwest. From brats in Wisconsin to tenderloin in Iowa, barbecue in Kansas City to porketta in the Iron Range to goetta in Cincinnati, the Midwest is almost defined by pork. Here, tracking the history of pig as pork, Cynthia Clampitt offers a fun, interesting, and tasty look at pigs as culture, calling, and cuisine.

Insiders' Guide to Atlanta is the essential source for in-depth travel and relocation information to the Georgia's largest city. Written by a local (and true insider), this guide offers a personal and practical perspective of Atlanta and its surrounding environs.