Don't Forget the Bacon! facts for kids
Book cover
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| Author | Pat Hutchins |
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| Illustrator | Pat Hutchins |
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Subject | Shopping |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Bodley Head |
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Publication date
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1976 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| OCLC | 001504849 |
| LC Class | 75017935 |
Don't Forget the Bacon! is a children's book written and illustrated by Pat Hutchins. It was published by Bodley Head in 1976. The story is about a little boy who tries to memorise a list of groceries his mother has asked him to buy. The book has been used as a teaching tool to instruct children about early learning concepts.
In an analysis of teaching tools for remedial readers, Maurice Saxby notes in the book Books in the Life of a Child: Bridges to Literature & Learning, "Hutchins's Don't Forget the Bacon has been one of my most successful texts." Andrea Hillbrick's Tuning in with Task Cards includes a teaching lesson structured around the boy's shopping list from the story. The book Foundation Blocks suggests Don't Forget the Bacon! be used to teach children about the concept of miscommunication, and Bilinguality and Literacy lists the story among those used to help assist a bilingual child develop fluency in English.
Don't Forget the Bacon! was a success in England and the United States, and received positive reception from the American Library Association, and The Washington Post. The story was recommended in 2005 as part of a children's reading challenge announced by the Education Minister for New South Wales, Australia, and included in suggested reading by The Times as part of the 2008 recognition of World Book Day.
Plot
The story is about a little boy who leaves his home with his dog to shop for food items for his mother, and attempts to remember the list of things she wanted him to buy. The original request from his mother is "six farm eggs, a cake for tea, a pound of pears, and don't forget the bacon". Along with the dog, he is accompanied on his trip by a butterfly. In order to avoid forgetting items, the boy recites his mother's list to himself. Throughout his trip to the store, the boy sees items along the way that play tricks with his memory, and items on his list one-by-one become substituted with other goods. He keeps thinking about the wrong things and he buys the wrong things. For the first item, "Six farm eggs" initially becomes "Six fat legs", then "Six clothes pegs". The second one, "A cake for tea" initially becomes "A cape for me", then "A rake for leaves". Finally, for the third, "A pound of pears" initially becomes "A flight of stairs", then "A pile of chairs". By the end of his trip, the boy has forgotten the initial items requested, and supplants them in his mind with "Six clothes pegs, a rake for leaves, a pile of chairs, and don't forget the bacon". Then he goes to the junk shop and says to a merchant there, "Six clothes pegs, a rake for leaves, and a pile of chairs please!". Before the boy is about to buy the six clothes pegs, the rake for leaves, and the pile of chairs, the merchant gets confused from the boy's grocery list (requested by his mother). The merchant in the junk shop, he then assists the boy in compiling about this odd list.
The merchant knows that the boy (all along) had correct items (six farm eggs, a cake for tea, and a pound of pears). But it was "Six clothes pegs, a rake for leaves, and a pile of chairs" instead. The boy gets confused with this odd list. While traveling back to his home, he remembers the original items (on his mother's grocery list). After he remembers the original (and correct) items that his mother has requested, he (one by one with the original items) corrects his mistakes while traveling back home. Then on the way home, he says to himself, "Six farm eggs, a cake for tea, and a pound of pears". After saying that, he is happy that he has remembered those three items (the six farm eggs, cake for tea, and pound of pears). Soon he has the list right and has the correct items. However, he has forgotten the bacon when he gets home. At that, he says out loud, "I FORGOT THE BACON!". Finally, the final page depicts the child carrying a basket and a coin purse, taking his dog attached to a leash (after his mother has collected the three items; the six farm eggs, the cake for tea, and the pound of pears) for an en-route. The boy's mother sets the boy off for an en-route since he forgot the bacon. He does an en-route probably to purchase the bacon which he forgot. As he and his dog do the en-route to purchase the bacon, he tells himself that he should write down a list the next time he goes out grocery shopping and his mother tells him the list (like a checklist) so he does not get distracted and forget the list again.
Background
Pat Hutchins was born 18 June 1942. A native of Yorkshire, she attended a local art school for three years on scholarship before studying illustration at the Leeds College of Art. Hutchins's first children's work, Rosie's Walk, was named a 1968 ALA Notable Book, and her book The Wind Blew received the 1974 Kate Greenaway Medal. She lives in London and has written twenty-five books and five novels.
