Winston Churchill once said: “I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down. Pigs treat us as equals.” This may be one reason for many people’s fascination with pigs, but a more likely reason might be the long history of nearness to them. In America, less than a century ago, there were family farms where people raised, among other things, livestock for market and for the family’s consumption. Nearly all of these family farms raised a litter or two of pigs. When pigs live near, they are always in the imagination. Natural escape artists, smart and quick-witted, full of personality, pigs invite comparisons to humans.
Life with pigs is unlike life with other farm animals. Their size and intelligence make them challenging to raise, while their lack of concern for their surroundings (other than shade or perhaps some nice mud to wallow in) makes them easier to care for than other farm animals. Bob Artley once again applies his finely honed memories of life on the farm to these porcine creatures, with a work that is at once informative, nostalgic, and beautiful.
About the Author
Bob Artley has been a respected illustrator for over fifty years. He began his career as an editorial cartoonist with the Des Moines Tribune and then with the Worthington (Minnesota) Daily Globe. Artley has illustrated more than ten books, including Once Upon a Farm and Grady’s in the Silo, with text by Una Belle Townsend. Mr. Artley now divides his time between Winterhaven, Florida, and the home of his family farm in Hampton, Iowa.
LIVING WITH PIGS
Written and illustrated by Bob Artley
Foreword by Dave Flint
HUMOR / General
64 pp. 9 x 6
32 color illustrations
ISBN: 9781589801042 hc