School Library Journal Starred Review

Gr 2-4-Spoiled Princess Penelope's parents give her the pig she demands as a present for her eighth birthday. And, luckily enough for the child and her royal but ineffective parents, the endearing animal is accompanied by young Johnny Skinner, an amiable pig-keeper determined to teach the family something about manners and good sense. King-Smith's abundant affection for pigs and sure hand with dialogue keep the story buoyant, and the happy ending is never in doubt. Lollipop adapts to palace life quite quickly, thanks to Johnny's good training, and she even has a flap in the palace door so that she can get out as necessity dictates. Barton's pencil illustrations are charming and recall Ernest H. Shepard's various royal personages in A. A. Milne's Now We Are Six. The king's befuddled face and Penelope's stormy looks are delightful. Lollipop is shown with a sweetly confident expression as she goes about her pig activities, including happily depositing a bit of fertilizer on the queen's roses. The cover is inviting, and the book is handsomely designed with an open and readable typeface. An appealing read-aloud for younger children and a satisfying chapter book for those a little older.-Kathie Meizner, Montgomery County Public Libraries, Chevy Chase, MD Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

ALA Booklist (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2001)

Princess Penelope is a royal terror who gets whatever she wants from her indulgent father. What she wants now is a pig for her birthday. After all the pigs in the kingdom are rounded up, she chooses lovely Lollipop, the only possession of poor Johnny Skinner, who's allowed to stay as the pig's keeper. At first it seems that his job will be teaching Lollipop to be a pig in a palace, but it soon becomes clear that his task is to train the princess to be a better human being. The story itself is predictable, and even the characters are pretty much stereotypes. What's fun is the way everyone interacts with Lollipop, a wise creature, who has only to look at people to change them for the better. Still, without Jill Barton's pencil drawings this might have floundered. Barton's talent for drawing both pigs and children elevates the story from commonplace to endearing. New readers can handle this, and because of the profusion of pictures, it will work equally well as a read-aloud.

Horn Book

Lollipop, the "scruffiest, ugliest pig of the lot," hardly seems the right pet for pampered Princess Penelope. As it turns out, Lollipop can learn to do just about anything her young trainer, Johnny, wants her to do. Johnny's ability to understand Penelope and her hapless parents is at the heart of this satisfying tale. The short chapters and the book's open, lively design and engaging pencil illustrations add to this amusing book's appeal.

Kirkus Reviews

The author of Babe, the Gallant Pig (1985) offers another winner with this tale of a bright pig and her canny young keeper "training" a spoiled princess. When Princess Penelope demands a pig for her eighth birthday, her over-indulgent father requires every pig keeper in the country to assemble with a likely porcine candidate. The princess settles on Lollipop, who turns out to be the sole possession of penniless orphan Johnny Skinner. As only Johnny can get Lollipop to sit, roll over, or poop outdoors, soon lad and pig are comfortably ensconced together in a royal stall—at least until the pig can be persuaded to respond to the Princess's commands. It's only the beginning of a meteoric rise for Johnny, and for Lollipop too, as the two conspire to teach the princess civilized manners, and end up great favorites of the entire royal family. Barton ( Rattletrap Car , p. 504, etc.) captures Penelope's fuming, bratty character perfectly in a generous array of line drawings, and gives Lollipop an expression of affectionate amusement that will win over readers as effortlessly as it wins over the princess and her parents. Move over, Wilbur. (Fiction. 8-10)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

A rude young princess who insists on a pig for her eighth birthday learns a few lessons about manners and friendship as she helps to train her new pet, Lollipop. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">PW called this early chapter book a "sprightly confection that dresses up a familiar plot with amusing, old-fashioned storytelling." Ages 7-10. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Aug.)