Review of “Skinny Katie and Her Potbelly Pig Named Sadie” by Paul Bullock from Lubbock

Score: 93/100 (9.3 out of 10)

Skinny Katie and Her Potbelly Pig Named Sadie is a surprisingly unique and charming children's book by Paul Bullock from Lubbock!

Seriously! We didn't expect to enjoy and appreciate this book as much as we did. You can't judge a book by its cover. And you can't judge a book's heart and soul by some initially-unsettling illustrations.

Appearances can be deceiving. Despite the sharp, warped, and Gothic appearance of the art-style—which is charming in its own unique way—the characters are soft, caring, and—above all—loving!

This is a surprisingly heartwarming and adorable book that is sure to appeal to children and readers who love animals and rural country life. It's a story about living your mostly-mundane life with your favorite pet animal, all the while daydreaming of what might be someday.

This book follows the titular Katie (a skinny woman) and Sadie, her chubby pet pig. Calling Sadie a “pet” might be a bit of a stretch. Katie and Sadie treat each other like best friends. They live together in a little cabin by a stream, where they often fish. Yes, Sadie the Pig actually fishes!

This book actually includes a lot of examples of anthropomorphism including Sadie fishing, holding hands, walking on her hind legs, brushing her own teeth, and even daydreaming like humans do. There's also an unnamed cat character from the neighborhood who stands and walks bipedal, eats at the dinner table with the humans, and even plays the fiddle!

It should be briefly noted that there's a somewhat nightmarish appearance to this cat character and other characters, including Skinny Katie herself. It's hard to describe why they look so “nightmarish” to us. Maybe it's the uncanny valley. Maybe it's the elongated and exaggerated features, especially the noses and necks. Maybe it's the fact that the eyes of the human characters are just empty black dots akin to the Other Mother in Coraline by Neil Gaiman, who had buttons for eyes. Maybe it's the creepy, omnipresent smiles of all the characters, almost clown-like and possibly hiding other motives or real feelings.

The best explanation we have is to compare the unsettling appearance of the characters, particularly Skinny Katie & the anthropomorphic cat, to Lady Elaine Fairchild from Mister Rogers Neighborhood. Do you remember Lady Elaine? The creepy-looking, never-blinking, yet friendly/helpful puppet? That's actually a perfect comparison.

It should be noted briefly that Lady Elaine was apparently based on classic Punch and Judy puppets, which may also have inspired the appearance of these characters.

You know, this is a reminder that looks aren't everything. Appearances can be deceiving. There are GOOD, KIND, and LOVING people who might not look like perfect little dolls or angels. For example, there are real-life heroes—soldiers, veterans, firefighters, police officers, rescue workers, construction workers, miners, and survivors/victims of crime—who may have suffered some sort of amputation or disfigurement due to their line of work or circumstances beyond their control. This does not make them bad or evil people. This doesn't make them people we can't associate with or need to ostracize. No. They're human beings just like us who happened to look different.

Likewise, there are good looking people out there who are terrible, bad, and evil.

Well, thankfully, that characters in this book seem like superb and genuinely good people. Katie and Sadie genuinely seem to love and care about each other like best friends or siblings. Likewise, the townfolk are kind, loving, and accepting.

The people in this book are very considerate, giving everyone a turn to talk about their thoughts and dreams. They all give each other a hug in the end, which is actually quite sweet.

Humorously, this book has an entire epilogue-like section after the initial day-in-the-life segment which we swear exists just for laughs!

This is actually a very charming, lighthearted, and positive book that just might put a smile on your face.

Check it out!