Pig Town party

Cho (Oh, Olive!) expertly concocts a sharply funny rabbit-hole story with a dash of The Twilight Zone. When a mysterious invitation addressed to "Cutie" slides through the mail slot, requesting attendance at the annual Pig Town Party, the pigtailed human child on the receiving end is confused, flattered, and intrigued. "Last time I checked," states the pink-skinned, dot-eyed narrating youth, "I was indeed a cutie, but I was not a pig." As intrepid as they are confident, the child discovers, beyond a huge hedge, a mirror-image town that's populated by porcine inhabitants. The party itself is Gatsby-like in its lavishness: gouache and colored pencil illustrations show a glowing mansion with a grand staircase and costumed piggy guests all competing in a lavish masquerade whose prize is an elaborate, multitiered pink cake. The child admits to the reader that "of course, lying is very bad," but stays mum when called Cutie until they're voted the most creatively costumed pig of all--and denounced by an angry pig in an identical outfit. Exit kid and cake, pursued by pigs, but the triumph of a successful return is short-lived when the wily youth receives a fittingly funny comeuppance in this pleasingly madcap work. Human background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4--8. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Oct.)

A girl receives a mysterious letter. "Dear Cutie: You are invited to the annual Pig Town Party," reads the invitation that floats through the narrator's mail slot. The child, tan-skinned with triangular black pigtails, a cartoonishly square jaw, and dots for eyes, agrees that she is a cutie, but she has many questions, not the least of which is, "Where is Pig Town?" The porcine mail carrier whom she asks for directions darts through a hole in a hedge, and when the girl follows, she ends up in a town populated entirely by anthropomorphic pigs. When the child finds the eponymous party in full swing, all the pigs seem to be in costume. What's more, pigs keep complimenting her costume, even though she isn't wearing one, just her regular blue dress. When Cutie is announced as the winner of the costume contest, the child wonders if there's been a mistake. That's when the real Cutie, a pig wearing an identical blue dress, appears and demands her rightful prize, a huge chocolate cake; this has all been a case of mistaken identity. But the child refuses to back down. Marked by droll humor in both the text and the images, this farcical tale stars a protagonist with outsize expressions and a big personality. The satisfying resolution sees the mischievous youngster get her just deserts. Absurdly funny.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.