Waltur Buys a Pig in a Poke and Other Stories - Hardcover

Gregorich, Barbara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0618473068 ISBN 13: 9780618473069

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2006

Synopsis

“Be careful,” said Matilda. “Do not buy a pig in a poke.” “What’s a poke?” asked Darwin.

Yes, what is a poke? And why would Waltur, a bear, buy a pig, anyway?
Together with the help of his best friends, Matilda and Darwin, Waltur is about to find out the wisdom of Matilda’s words. Through trial and error, he will also learn the truths behind two other funny old sayings: “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch” (why not?) and “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink” (wanna bet?).

About this title

From the Author:

When I was growing up two of my loves were horses and my grandfather, though not in that order. My grandfather was a source of proverbs and folk wisdom. I didn’t always understand what these funny sayings meant, but a lot of them had to do with horses ("no sense in locking the barn door after the horse is stolen," or "you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink"), so I was always interested. And, being a child, I at first took these sayings literally, looking everywhere for the lock, the barn door, and the stolen horse.

As I grew older, I noticed that all children at first take proverbs and idioms to mean exactly what the words say: they haven’t had enough experience to grasp the folk wisdom that the words express. And then I noticed that some adults didn’t understand what idioms and proverbs meant, either! I wondered if perhaps people were slowly losing their connection to expressions that embody hundreds of years of humor and wisdom.

What fun, I thought, if I could write a book featuring a character who took idioms literally and, in doing so, ended up learning their true meanings. That’s how I came up with Waltur, a bear who grapples with the meaning behind sayings. Sometimes Waltur wins, sometimes he loses, but his journey is always humorous.

About the Author:

Barbara Gregorich loves proverbs and folk wisdom, particularly about animals and especially about horses. She lives in Chicago with her husband.

About this edition

• Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0618473068
• ISBN 13: 9780618473069
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 64
• Illustrator: Sorra Kristin