Book Review: Pork Chop by David Edminister

Alliteration can be demanding; we’ve all learned that lesson by repeating a variety of phrases “five times fast.” Whether it’s “She sells seashells,” or Peter Piper picking a peck of pickled pumpkins (what kind of freak pickles pumpkins, anyway?), alliterative rhymes haunt our childhood. Alliteration is popular in character names as well; two of my favorites are Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Authors like using alliterative names for people and places, and (al)literally thousands of them can be found in literature.

Pork Chop, author David Edminister’s entry into juvenile fiction, is a story filled with alliteration. The author is thanked for not overdoing it — too much alliteration and we find ourselves stumbling over passages rather than enjoying the intellectual challenge they offer. There is more wordplay at work Pork Chop, as well, including puns and plays on words.

The story itself is simple; Porter, a little pig, becomes an adolescent pig, but as he grows up his favorite story (The Three Little Pigs) becomes the stuff of nightmares. Whereas he once reveled in his mother’s repeated readings of this book (her favorite is Pygmalion), later in life it became scary food for thought. What would he do if a big, bad wolf actually did come to his door and try to eat him and his mom?

Most children can identify with Porter’s fears. As they become more self-sufficient and responsible, they worry whether they can handle things that may come up. Can they live up to everyone’s expectations and — more importantly — their own?

Porter and his mother have a few amusing exchanges; one occurs when mom tells him he shouldn’t be pigging out and gaining weight because it’s not healthy. Porter complains that all his friends are porky, and their parents don’t complain, to which mom replies, “Porter, if all your friends rooted around in the mud, would you do it, too?”

Article Author: Miss Bob Etier

Like most freelance writers, there is something about her that isn't quite right. Read her stuff and find out what.

Want to contact bob? Try bob.etier@gmail.com

Visit Miss Bob Etier's author page — Miss Bob Etier's Blog