ALA Booklist (Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2003)

Chip is the new pig in class, and he can't help but notice that Fitch, an only child who lives with his granny, is the only wolf. Is Fitch is a werewolf or a big bad wolf? After Chip happens to see Fitch sitting alone in the lunchroom, he decides Fitch is a lone wolf. Chip, who has two bigger brothers and three smaller sisters, bonds with Fitch over sharing and siblings. Pig and wolf are pleasantly anthropomorphized, and the other kids include cats and bunnies. The beginning of a beautiful friendship and the joys of discovering differences and similarities are chronicled sweetly and simply.

Horn Book (Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 2001)

In this fifth book about Martha the talking dog, Martha's family is disappointed when their new puppy, Skits, eats alphabet soup but can only say "woof." It turns out, however, that Skits has his own special talent--that of chasing and catching flying objects, from Frisbees to bees. Once again, Meddaugh's appealing cartoon-like illustrations move the story forward and add humor and personality to the characters.

Kirkus Reviews

Chip is a confident, friendly little pig (the middle child in a large family) and Fitch is a nervous, shy young wolf who lives alone with his grandmother. They meet on Chip's first day of school, when Chip is looking for a friend and notices that Fitch is always sticking to himself, clutching his tail, and twitching his ears. With droll humor and lots of short, funny lines, Wheeler succeeds in creating two distinct characters and a real plot, all within the confines of the upper easy-reader format. The text is divided into four short chapters, with a large type size and brightly colored watercolor illustrations on every page. Ansley uses a wide variety of perspectives in his work, adding motion wherever possible and additional humor with his expressive animal characters. The series continues with the second entry, Fitch and Chip: When Pigs Fly, and Fitch and Chip seem poised to continue their friendship with additional volumes. (Easy reader. 6-8)

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

Wheeler (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Sailor Moo<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Porcupining) brings her quirky sense of humor and wordplay to these Fitch & Chip titles, first in a planned series of easy readers. In <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">New Pig in Town, Chip, the new pig, and Fitch, a lone wolf, build an unlikely friendship in entirely believable ways: eating lunch, playing ball and walking home from school. The two friends compare their home life in candid, realistic banter: "Granny knows who to blame when things break," says Fitch, an only child. "I get blamed when I didn't do it," says Chip, one of a passel of piglets. Ansley (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Turk and Runt) fills at least half of each page with watercolors in a bold palette with many close-up perspectives. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">When Pigs Fly finds the friends coping with peer pressure and fitting in when everyone but Fitch dresses as a TV character for Hero Day at school. Creating an interesting story line and characters within the confines of the format, Wheeler offers beginning readers two new friends. Ages 6-8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Sept.)