Joseph Caldwell’s rollicking Pig Trilogy, a charmingly romantic three-part tale of an American in contemporary Ireland

With this haunting first volume of his Into Their Labours trilogy, John Berger begins his chronicle of the eclipse of peasant cultures in the twentieth century. Set in a small village in the French Alps, Pig Earth relates the stories of skeptical, hard-working men and fiercely independent women; of calves born and pigs slaughtered; of summer haymaking and long dark winters f rest; of a message of forgiveness from a dead father to his prodigal son; and of the marvelous Lucie Cabrol, exiled to a hut high in the mountains, but an inexorable part of the lives of men who have known her. Above all, this masterpiece of sensuous description and profound moral resonance is an act of reckoning that conveys the precise wealth and weight of a world we are losing.

Of The Pig Goes to Hog Heaven, the third and climactic entry in Joseph Caldwell’s charmingly boisterous Pig trilogy, one might well repeat the most famous words of the great non-Irish wordsmith and baseball catcher Yogi Berra, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Kitty McCloud, the trilogy’s leading lady, would let these words stand, even were she a corrector of aphorisms rather than of great literary works by the likes of Bronte, Hardy and Eliot no less, writing new versions of which she makes her outsized best-selling living. For in Mr. Caldwell’s new comedy, almost nothing seems to be over—disappeared characters rematerialize, romances that seemed dead spring back to life, and even Taddy and Brid, Castle Kissane’s comely spirits, find new meaning in Yogi’s remark. And the pig, ah, the pig! The pig who started it all goes wee wee wee all the way—um—home.

If Frank McCourt and Roddy Doyle were locked in a room with a barrel of Guinness and some pens, this is the wicked comedy they many write together. It is infused with beautiful descriptions of the theatrical Irish land and seascape.

After the loss of a child along with a slew of agonizing misfortunes, Nick and Jess decide to end their lives. But nothing could prepare him for the nightmares he found...nothing could prepare him for The Black Farm.

In this third installment of the series, Pig trilogy, disappeared characters rematerialize, romances that seemed dead burst back to ardent life, and even Taddy and Brid, Castle Kissanes comely spirits, find new meaning as they resolve themselves into much-longed-for conclusions.

Practice makes perfect in this kick-butt fractured fairy tale, illustrated by Caldecott Medal winner Dan Santat. Why does this wolf think he can come to town and blow all the houses down? These three little pigs just aren't going to take it from that bully anymore! The first starts aikido lessons—he'll make mincemeat out of that wolf! His brother learns a little jujitsu—he'll chop that guy to pieces! But when the wolf actually appears, it turs out these two pigs aren't quite ready after all. Good thing their sister has been training every day to master some serious karate moves that save the day. KIYA! Corey Rosen Schwartz serves up a fun combination of smart-aleck dialogue and tongue-in-cheek rhymes that'll have kids howling, and rising star Dan Santat's spunky illustrations are sure to pack a punch! Be sure to look for just-as-clever companion books Ninja Red Riding Hood and Hensel & Gretel: Ninja Chicks!