Product Description

"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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #14843 in Books
• Published on: 1994-09-20
• Released on: 1994-09-20
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 176 pages

Review
“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.

From the Inside Flap
"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.  

About the Author
Robert Newton Peck comes from generations of Yankee farmers. Like the Vermont folk he writes about in his novel, he was raised as a boy in the Shaker Way, which endured even after the sect itself had died out. Its view of life is embodied in the character of his young protagonist's father, who believed that a faith is more blessed when put to use than when put to word: "A man's worship counts for naught, unless his dog and cat are the better for it."


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

So much more than a kid's story
It's always a joy to "find" a treasure. This book is a treasure. It was 'loaned' to me by my 12 year old daughter (almost 13, going on 35) after she had finished it for her English class. She didn't like the ending. I did. This book is true in every sense of the word. The actions and emotions and nuances are exactly Shaker and Vermont and turn-of-the-century rural. Rob's life is quite similar to my life as a child 35 years ago in rural Pennsylvania. I was born into a farm family and life, though hard, was really good. Yes, even after my father died when I was nine. I had my grandparents there as it was a multi-generational farm. Especially my grandfather who truly loved farming and gifted me with that love. The values are as important today as they were in Rob's time or in my time. Responsibility. Trust. Joy in a job well done and joy in the beauty of God's wonderful world. The truths that quality (and wealth) is not in things, it is in each of us, how we treat eachother, the largly unspoken respect given by family, friends and neighbors, and that being tired from a hard day's work feels good inside and out. Even the bumps and bruises. (Never get between an Angus cow and her calf, they can be as feisty as any Holstein!) The language and flow is also true and easy. I will add this to my collection and I will encourage my 16 year old son to read it and my toddler, when he's ready. And we will all talk about it.

The Controversey is Surprising
Simply stated, this is a good book. I am curious to see that it seems to have generated strong negative responses, but these are understandable. It is marketed as a young adult book, and the realism of some of the scenes does strike me as a bit graphic for young people. I remember reading it in the 7th grade and being moved. I read it again to my young children, and did find that I needed to do some heavy editing on the fly (I did not think that my kids needed the full "mating" scene, and in my version Pinky is traded away and a certain unnamed pig gets a less graphic slaughtering). I think that the warnings to sensitive readers are well-founded, but this book is worthy of the praise that it has received. There are other tough scenes throughout the book, but these all end up producing an accurate picture of human civilization before the age of packaged meat and pampered living. Know that it deals with matters of life, death, and husbandry with a no-nonsense approach, but also through the eyes of a sympathetic character who is simply learning what life demands of him.

A Day NO Pigs Would Die
The book called A Day No Pigs Would Die is a humourous but sad story.It is written by Robert Peck, and it is a true story. It describes Robert as a boy growing up and having to abide by the book of Shaker.It takes place in Vermont in the 1930's.

A Day No Pigs Would Die is about a boy who has to become a man very soon and his pet pig, Pinky.My favorite part of the story was when Robert went to the Rutland Fair with his neighbors and when he goes to the bathroom. Mrs.Tanner (his neighbor) tells him to watch for perverts, well little did he know that a pervert is a bad thing so he wants to meet one. Another very humourous part was when he brings a D home on his report card,and his Aunt Mattie wants to be his tutor. Well Robert thinks that tutor means an instrument and his Aunt Mattie is going to drown him cause she's Baptist and baptizeS people. A part that I didn't like in the book was when they were trying to weasel Ira Long's dog and after and after they weaseled her,she was so tore up that they had to shoot her to take her out of her misery.

I would recomend this book for anyone who likes to read "down to earth" stories.It tells everything even if it doesn't want to because the author wants you to visualize what's going on.I would recomend this book because this book it is a great story, and I think that you would enjoy it!!