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Genre: 🐷 Animal Fiction | Age: 👧🏼 Chapter Book/Middle Grade (6+) | Buy: Amazon or Bookshop.org | ⭐See star rating

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A gentle pig named Babe learns how to herd sheep and becomes a shepherd’s favorite herding “dog.”

💭 My Thoughts About the Book

I have to admit that this story is just a little strange to me. I grew up watching the movie, simply called Babe, and never really liked how the animals talked to each other. I felt somewhat the same in reading the book.

However, there is something extremely appealing about this little story. A pig who doesn’t have a place with his own species figures out how to help other animals by being kind.

The little plot points that happen with wild dogs, sheep-stealers, county fairs, and Fly the mother dog are all like little vignettes and short stories that could stand on their own. Put all together, they really do make a cute little story.

Maybe one of the strangest parts of this for me is the marriage of the farmer and his wife. They have such unique personalities that it’s hard to like them. But my kids found that to be a part of the charm.

📖 The Read-Aloud Experience

Since this book is short and written for a younger audience, reading it aloud was quite fun.

Everyone from my 3-year-old up to my 9-year-old could enjoy it. The oldest two have reread it several times since we read it together and still talk about their favorite parts.

Even though I found parts of it strange, the writing is not hard to enjoy as an adult. This is a great read-aloud for the entire family.

🗨 Thoughts from my Kids

My older two children have enjoyed reading this book for themselves several times and have their own opinions.

One of them loves that the story is told from the perspective of the animals.

The other likes that the story is “kind of impossible,” but that’s why she liked it. She loves when animals talk and have stories about them.

This child also appreciated all of the trials that Babe had to go through and how he pulled through each harrowing scene. Her favorite part was when the rustlers tried to steal the sheep, but Babe saves the day.

I hope you and your kids enjoy this one!

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🤖 Always written and edited without the use of AI.

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