Cover Image: Pinky's Fair Day

Pinky's Fair Day

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Pinky the pig wants to be known as a good helper. That is good, but the reason behind it, is to compete with friends, not so good. When Pinky tries to help, he ends up messing everything up. At least he tried. I wish the reactions of the ones he tried to help would have been different, such as telling him he tired hard instead of sending him off somewhere else. At the end, he ends up being a hero without even trying.

This is a good book for kids with a great message. Having said that, I think an adult needs to have discussions about the delivery or the message might get lost. Every young child has tried to be a good helper and messed it all up, so will be able to identify with Pinky. Even though he messes up, he keeps offering to help, which brings perseverance into the story. When a pair of animals is trying to do something dishonest, Pinky is in the right place. My grandson enjoyed this story. He laughed at Pinky's "mistakes" so we talked about when he might have made a mess or done something wrong, then I shared some stories as well. We also talked about how important it is to help others because it is the right thing to do, not to be recognized for it. The illustrations were great, we talked about them as well and he pointed out things to me that I had missed. Overall a successful read for us and I recommend it for family libraries, primary classrooms and school & public libraries.

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I received a copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a cute picture book about a little pig called Pinky who wants to be a great helper to others but everything he tries to do goes wrong. Pinky almost gets mislead by two naughty animals but recognises that what they are doing is wrong and decides not to help them. Pinky ends up unknowingly becoming a hero as well as a great helper and realises you just have to try your best.
This book is bright and colourful and very easy to understand for children as well as being very relateable too.

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Whimsical! Enchanting! Endearing! What a wonderful book. My daughters and I loved the story, characters, and artwork. Gorbachev’s narrative pacing is a perfect marriage with the fanciful illustrations and the warm introduction of each character elicited giggles, questions, and observations from me and my family. Thank you for “Pinky’s Fair Day”!

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Pinky's Fair Day follows Pinky as he tries to be a great helper. I wasn't terribly impressed with the language used. As a former preschool teacher and a mother, the way Pinky was treated by adults just didn't sit well with me. The message behind the book is fantastic: you don't have to be the best at something, just try your best, but the execution was disappointing.

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This was a good book for kids. An easy to understand story line and very relatable. Every little kid has tried to be a good helper and messed it all up. Little Pinky just wants to be a good helper and be thanked for his work. He keeps offering to help set up for the fair, but makes a mess of each task. When an opportunity comes, he doesn't even realize he has been the good helper until he is thanked.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Pinky’s Fair Day by Valeri Gorbachev

Pinky’s Fair Day is a fun and colorful new book for your younger child. It has wonderful illustrations with lots of different items in the pictures to talk about on each page. Well written with a great story about being helpful. An important lesson to talk about in a fun way!-Green Gables Book Reviews

The Country Fair is coming to town and Pinky is very excited! He is going to go watch everyone setting up for the fun. On the way he sees his friends, the Hedgehog Brothers and they are excited because they were told they were good helpers! Pinky wants to be a good helper, too, but each of the things he tries to help with doesn’t work out as planned, until Pinky is exactly where he needs to be at the right time. Soon, Pinky is a great helper, too!

Pinky’s Fair Day by Valeri Gorbachev

Published by- Star Bright Books, July 15, 2019

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

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Great idea for a story. It brought Pinocchio strongly to mind toward the end. I wasn't terribly impressed with the way the various adults handled the situations Pinky found himself in. I would have rather seen a lesson in "people are people, no matter how small." I feel that kids deserve respect, the same as adults. A little gentle constructive criticism cab go a long way.

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I just reviewed Pinky's Fair Day by Valeri Gorbachev. #PinkysFairDay #NetGalley

An interesting story, where Pinky the pig wants to be called a great helper, but all he did was making mistakes. This is all because he wanted to compete with his friends' achievements.

Though easy enough to read, parents or teachers need to accompany the children to read this, and conclude the book with moral of the story, which can be seen from every angle.

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Pinky’s Fair Day is a cute story about a little pig named Pinky who wants nothing more than for people to call her a good helper. She wants that good feeling of gratification for a job well done, however she rushes through most of the jobs and causes mayhem.l, upsetting a lot of people in the process.

When cat and dog call on Pinky for “help” they end up doing many illegal things.

She thwarts their bad deeds and ends up being a good helper after all.

Great story with a nice message.

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The country fair is coming to town and everyone is busy with preparations.

When Pinky the Pig learns that his friends, the Hedgehog brothers did a good paint job for Mrs. Raccoon and she called them great helpers, Pinky sets out to prove that he’s a great helper.

And so he goes around offering to help his mates and asking them if he’s a great helper—Mrs Sheep 🐑 who’s putting up flags for decoration, Mr Goat 🐐the Carpenter.

But instead of helping out Pinky gets entangled in Mrs. Sheep’s nets and rocks in one of Mr Goat’s chairs instead of helping out. They both tell him he’s not a good helper.

Then he goes to Mr. Boar 🐗 the potter and asks if he could help. Mr. Boar asks him to load the pots he’s making for the fair into his cart. While hauling the pots to the cart, Pinky accidentally drops the pots smashing them to smithereens.

Furious, Mr. Boar tells Pinky he doesn’t need his help anymore. Pinky apologizes and runs off to find someone who would appreciate his help.

He meets Mrs. Crow and Mrs. Owl 🦉 who are in a hurry to get to the fair. They ask Pinky to sweep the floor while they bake dumplings for the fair🥟. Before he sets to work, Pinky asks them if would call him a great helper if he did his work well. “Of course we will”, they both reply.

No sooner does Pinky starts sweeping does he spin dust all over Mrs. Crow and Mrs. Owl. Like the others, they scream at him saying they don’t need his help anymore. Once again, Pinky apologizes saying “I did his best”.

Pinky feels sad because nobody calls him a great helper and nobody needs him.
Just then, Cat and Dog who happened to nearby overhear him and promise to call him a great helper if he helps them.

So they ask Pinky to give them a boost while they pick apples 🍎 from an apple tree in someone’s yard. Pinky thinks it’s wrong because the apples are not theirs. Moreover, he’s ripped his trousers while helping them.

Cat and Dog then offer him a change of clothes from the Traveling Theater wagon passing by. Cat and Dog ambush the wagon, tie up the puppeteers, Duck and Donkey. Then they make a fast getaway with the wagon. Pinky calls out for help and then offers to help untie the puppeteers. They are suffused with gratitude

Pinky asks them if this means he’s a great helper to which they reply that he is. Excited, Pinky dashes off to find the Hedgehog brothers to share the news.

Beautiful story and lovely illustrations. Would recommend to kids.

Thank you to Valeri Gorbachev, NetGalley, and Star Bright Books for an ARC of this book.

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If this book had actually been about "the intrinsic rewards of helping others", I might've liked it more than I did. As it is, this is simply a book about a narcissistic little pig who only helps others because it benefits him.

Pinky (a pig... and the only character in the book with a name that isn't just a descriptor of his species) finds out from the Hedgehog brothers that they were complimented for being good helpers. He wants someone to tell him he's a good helper, too, so he goes around to his neighbours and tries to help. But each time, he just makes a mess of things, and when he's told he's not a good helper, he just says, "I tried my best." Then he meets up with Cat and Dog, who are obviously bad news. When they try to carjack the puppet wagon, Pinky squeals, and Cat and Dog run away. Then he's told he's a good helper.

I thought maybe there would be more after that, something that would show Pinky that helping just for the sake of helping is a good thing. But what does he do next? He runs off to brag to the Hedgehog brothers that someone called him a good helper.

The illustrations almost remind me of something you'd find in a 1960s picture book. They're passable, but not special. Combined with the unsophisticated story and annoying main character, they're not quite enough to make this book a winner.

This story just seems to teach kids to expect accolades for everything. Never mind kindness or doing something because it needs to be done. Apparently, the only reason to help others is so they'll stroke your ego. I'm sorry, but that's just not the type of message I want to see in children's books.

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The story wasn't bad but there are a few things that irked me. First off the main character is whiny as hell and expects praise for helping to boost his ego rather than helping others to benefit them and not themselves. This isn't even the moral at the end of the story either so it feels unfinished. The illustrations are passable but don't fit in with the style of the book at all. I cannot in good conscience give it any more than 3 stars maximum.

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