Piggybook

　　膾炙人口的朱家故事道盡了兩性之間長久以來的不平等問題。安東尼布朗（Anthony Browne）在封面就點出一個家庭主婦的沉重負擔。但是朱媽媽抿著嘴，臉上掛著一副憂愁不勝負荷的眼神，而朱爸爸和孩子卻開懷大笑，讓朱媽媽一人背著。隨著故事的起伏變化，安東尼布朗以亮麗和陰晦的畫面交替進行，讓讀者深刻體會家庭事物分工的不公平，不過安東尼布朗還是以風趣的豬頭構圖，稀釋了部分不愉悅的衝擊。
 
　　安東尼布朗用一連串的對比，強調朱家人在家庭中分工的不平均，父子只會飯來張口，朱媽媽可是忙得昏天暗地。一天，朱媽媽終於氣走了。全家立即陷入更混亂的地步。話雖如此，媽媽畢竟是媽媽，還是放不下心，又回來探視父子三人。朱家父子這時也覺得對不起媽媽，大家開始樂於分擔家務。對於父子的改變，朱媽媽也身受感動，也會刷洗車子起來。雖然她們不見得從此以後就幸福快樂，但是我們相信，他們已學會由協調互動而達到平衡和諧，日子就會越過越好。

Illus. in full color. "Mr. Piggott and his sons are a male chauvinist lot who, outside of yelling for their dinner, don't exercise themselves much around the house. When Mrs. Piggott finally tires of the endless chores that sandwich her workday, she leaves the menfolk on their own, with a note saying, 'You are pigs.' With the cooking and housework untended, they soon turn genuinely porcine, a transformation Browne foreshadows with pig faces on the wallpaper, vases, fireplace, phone. As in most of Browne's art, there is more than a touch of irony and visual humor here. Fun to read aloud."--Bulletin, Center for Children's Books.

Anthony Browne is rightly regarded as one of the world’s leading picturebook creators. He lives in England with his wife and two children. He has won awards in many countries, including the Kate Greenaway Medal of England for GORILLA and ZOO, and the Kurt Maschler Award of Germany for GORILLA. His inspiration for GORILLA came from a combination of things -- a greeting card he’d designed of a huge macho gorilla holding a teddy bear, a very lonely boy he knew whose father lived in New Zealand, his own fascination with gorillas. The behavior of a real family provided the idea for PIGGYBOOK (not his own, however!) When the book was completed, he presented the family with a copy, without comment. But they didn’t see any relevance to themselves!