1. Peck, Robert Newton. A Day No Pigs Would Die. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1972.
2. Plot Summary. Young Rob Peck lives on a Vermont farm, the son of Shaker parents. When the Pecks' neighbor, Mr. Tanner, offers 12-year-old Rob a piglet as a thank you for Rob helping his old cow calve her twins as well as removing a goiter from the old cow's throat (resulting in great injury to himself), Mr. Peck declines the offer at first. "We thank you, Brother Tanner," said Papa. "But it's not the Shaker Way to take frills for being neighborly. All that Robert done was what any farmer would do for another." (p. 21) However, with some gentle persistence, Rob's father is persuaded to allow Rob to accept the piglet, and Rob begins a journey with Pinky, the first thing to ever really belong to him. As summer turns to winter, Rob must face harsh obstacles which force him to grow up and by the time he is 13, his life is completely changed.
3. Critical Analysis. At exactly 150 pages, this book is a relatively short, easy read, if by "easy" we mean a book which can be read quickly. However, the content of the novel is anything but easy at times. The story includes events which can be hard for adults to read, let alone young adults, events such as the repeated forced, brutal mating of Pinky in an attempt to breed her, and the death of a family member. However, from an adolescent's point of view, what might make the book difficult to read is a lack of background knowledge of rural life. The story is generally told in a slowly unfolding manner without much of the adventure or excitement that young adults are used to in this era of video games and the constantly moving and changing experiences of urban and suburban life.
Peck's novel is a classic. A Day No Pigs Would Die was one of the earliest novels for young adults, along with S. E. Hinton's The Outsiders and Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War. While the the subject matter can be difficult to digest, Peck handle's it realistically, yet with sensitivity. When it was first published in 1972, more adolescents were rural dwellers than they are now, which may have drawn readers in more readily than it would now. However, many adult readers still discover the book and often comment on not only finding a powerful story, but also a humorous one. After Rob brings home a D in English on his report card, his Aunt Matty takes it upon herself to teach him grammar. After a particulary strenuous time of trying to diagram a sentence, Rob's mother asks, "How was the first lesson?" "Next time," said Aunt Matty, "I'll teach the pig." (p. 60)
The characters are well-developed, and the story is told from the viewpoint of Rob, who turns from 12 to 13 from beginning to end of the story. While the plot is a little slow at times, Rob's character passes through this "coming of age" story by successfully meeting the challenges with courage and strength. The emotions dealt with are emotions that are universal to young adults - fear, anguish, and uncertainty are all handled well by Rob without glossing over how difficult some of the situations are for him to confront. While the story has a tragic ending, the reader will feel the hope which Rob feels that despite the difficulty of the situations, he will be alright.
If this novel has a weakness, it will be that many young adults today will not relate to the setting of the farm. Adolescents who are used to fast-paced adventure stories with various and unique formats that are so readily available in YA fiction now may classify this novel as boring. On the flip side, the fight Rob describes on the first page which leads to him skipping school and consequently rescuing Mr. Tanner's cow from her distress may be enough to hook some readers where they will quickly find the graphic descriptions of the birth of the calf, the removal of the goiter, and the dragging of Rob through the cactus-infested field rendering him unconscious. The strength of the descriptions will keep readers engaged once they are involved in the story.
A Day No Pigs Would Die has had its share of controversy. It ranked seventeenth on the American Library Association's "The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000" generally due to the graphic depictions of animal treatment and death. (Geoffrey Skinner, MLIS, Sonoma State University). Yet it also received several awards upon its release:
WINNER 1973 - School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
WINNER 1972 - Colorado Children's Book Award
WINNER 1973 - ALA Best Books for Young Adults
4. Review Excerpts.
“Reading this book is like sipping hot cider in front of a crackling potbellied stove. Every page is suffused with wit and charm and glowing with warmth.”–Newsweek
“A lovely book. . . . Honest, moving, homely in the warm and simple sense of the word. . . . It is small, accepting and loving and it succeeds perfectly.”–Boston Globe
“You’ll find yourself caught up in the novel’s emotion from the very opening scene. . . . Love suffuses every page.”–The New York Times
"With plenty of Yankee common sense and dry wit, and some pathos as the boy at 13 takes on the duties of a man. For boys of this age and for the young of any age."--School Library Journal.
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