That piggy banks are named for the clay material pygg that money jars were originally made from?
I found this information on page 36 in the book Ceramics for Kids by Mary Ellis. Eventually the shape of the jar became a pig, since for most hardworking peasants their most valuable asset was the family pig. Kids will also enjoy doing some of the projects in this book. Also look at Mudworks by Mary Ann F. Kohl which has recipes for making all kinds of unusual modeling materials. You can use sawdust or cotton balls or even make some edible dough!
If you have a piggy bank, you’ll need something to put into it. The Teen Money Manual by Kara McGuire is a young adult book that is a guide to cash, credit, spending, saving, work, wealth and more. I loved that it really simplified the concepts of interest, credit scores, insurance premiums and other financial terms making them easier to understand.
You can learn the basics about pigs in the book Pigs by Sharon Dalgleish. One famous pig is Babe: The Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith. Babe decides he is going to be a ‘sheepdog’ and ends up winning the Grand Challenge Sheepdog trials. A cute story with a happy ending!
Another popular pig is the peppermint Christmas pig. The tradition of the famous Peppermint Pig started ages ago in the 1880’s with candy makers in Saratoga Springs, NY. It’s a festive way to celebrate the holidays. When families gathered together at Christmas for the holiday meal, the tradition was to break the Peppermint Pig after dinner (inside a small cloth pouch) using a miniature hammer. All family members would then share in eating the sweet candy pieces, hoping for good fortune in the coming year.
And then there are guinea pigs, which aren’t really pigs at all. They most likely got the name pig because of the squealing noise they make. They make excellent pets and you can read all about them in Animal Planet’s Guinea Pigs by Julie Mancini.
Lastly, let’s not forget the ever popular children’s song “This little piggy went to market.” We have this on the children’s CD Banana Ram Sam interactive by Johnny Only.
Be sure to visit A Reading Life for more reviews and news of all things happening at the Everett Public Library.
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