King-Smith, Dick. Lady Lollipop. Illustrated by Jill Barton. Candlewick Press, 2000. ISBN 0-7636-1269-3. $15.95. 122 pp. A 3+ FI Reviewed by Vicky Turner “Once upon a time in a faraway land, there lived a little princess. She was seven years old, soon to be eight, with short brown hair and large brown eyes, and she was a very spoiled child.” The saga of how Princess Penelope rules her parents, King Theophilus and Queen Ethelwynne, begins as they try to decide what to give her for her birthday. They ask Penelope what she wants, and her answer dumbfounds them. She wants a pig-a trained pig that can live in the palace. Queen Ethelwynne vows to move out if the pig moves in. Then comes a humble swineherd named Johnny Skinner, a long, skinny boy who appears to be no cleaner than his pig. It is his pig that Penelope chooses for a pet. His kind, gentle nature is evident as he slowly trains not only the pig, but the princess, the king, and even the queen. This is another of King-Smith’s adorable animal tales. Charming charcoal pictures add to the pleasure of the story. When the author began writing this book he couldn’t decide what kind of animal to write about. His first thought was a pig, but he had done other pig stories. So he “waited, then along came Lady Lollipop.”
