Freddy the Pig facts for kids
Freddy the Pig is the main character in a popular series of 26 children's books. These books were written by an American author named Walter R. Brooks between 1927 and 1958. The pictures in the books were drawn by Kurt Wiese. The series includes 25 adventure stories and one book of poems.
The books are all about the exciting adventures of a group of animals. They live together on a farm in a countryside area called upstate New York.
Freddy is first introduced as the "smallest and cleverest" pig on the Bean farm. At the beginning, he's just one of many animals. But soon, he becomes the most important character in the stories. Freddy's many interests drive the books. He becomes a detective, a politician (someone involved in government), a newspaper editor, a magician, and even a pilot!
A tricky but polite villain named Simon often appears. He is a rat who leads a gang of other criminal rats. Human characters in the books include Mr. and Mrs. Bean, who own the farm. There are also people from the nearby town of Centerboro, and sometimes human villains too.
A lot of the humor in the books comes from the author pointing out that talking animals are not normal. This is different from other children's stories where talking animals are just accepted. As the series goes on, the animals on the Bean Farm become famous across the country. People are surprised to find themselves talking to animals, but they quickly get used to it. The animals and humans in the stories never get older. However, the books do show what life was like when they were written. For example, books published during World War II mention things like scrap drives (collecting materials for the war) and victory gardens (gardens grown to help with food supply).
Where the Stories Happen
Almost all the Freddy the Pig books take place on the Bean farm. This farm is located near the town of Centerboro, in Oneida County, upstate New York. Centerboro is not a real town, and neither are other nearby places mentioned. These include Aeschylus Center, Gomorrah Falls, South Pharisee, Plutarch Mills, and West Ninevah.
However, some real towns are mentioned as being a bit farther away. These include Syracuse, Rome, Buffalo, and Utica, New York. For example, Utica is mentioned in the book Freddy and the Baseball Team From Mars. This suggests that Centerboro might be somewhere east of Syracuse. This is close to where the author, Walter R. Brooks, lived when he was a boy.
In another book, Freddy and Mr. Camphor, a nearby fictional lake called Otesaraga is described. It's said to be "thirty miles around, and only a mile across." This description matches Skaneateles Lake very closely. Skaneateles Lake is about ten miles southwest of Syracuse. So, based on these clues, the Bean farm is likely located somewhere within 30 miles southwest or generally east of Syracuse.
The Pictures in the Books
The entire Freddy the Pig series is illustrated by Kurt Wiese. He became a very famous illustrator and author, winning awards for his work. The very first book was originally illustrated by Adolfo Best Maugard. But when the book was re-released, Kurt Wiese redid all the pictures.
After the first few books, a clear style for the illustrations was set. Each chapter begins with a black and white drawing that takes up half a page. Then, somewhere within each chapter, there is a full-page black and white drawing. The covers of the books are line drawings colored with watercolors. Each cover usually has one main color that stands out.
The endpapers (the pages glued inside the front and back covers) are two-tone illustrations. They usually match the color theme of the cover. For example, the endpapers for Freddy Rides Again have a yellow background and a blue drawing. This matches the yellow and blue colors on the cover. Kurt Wiese drew more than 900 pictures for the Freddy the Pig series!
All the Freddy Books in Order
Here are all 26 titles in the Freddy the Pig series, listed by when they were first published. Some of them were first released with different titles, which are shown in parentheses.
- Freddy Goes to Florida, 1927 (originally To and Again); re-issued in 1949 as both Freddy Goes to Florida and Freddy's First Adventure
- Freddy Goes to the North Pole, 1930 (originally More To and Again); later re-titled
- Freddy the Detective, 1932
- Freddy and Freginald, 1936 (originally The Story of Freginald); re-titled in 1952
- Freddy and the Clockwork Twin, 1937 (originally The Clockwork Twin); later re-titled
- Freddy the Politician, 1939 (originally Wiggins for President); re-titled in 1948
- Freddy's Cousin Weedly, 1940
- Freddy and the Ignormus, 1941
- Freddy and the Perilous Adventure, 1942
- Freddy and the Bean Home News, 1943
- Freddy and Mr. Camphor, 1944
- Freddy and the Popinjay, 1945
- Freddy the Pied Piper, 1946
- Freddy the Magician, 1947
- Freddy Goes Camping, 1948
- Freddy Plays Football, 1949
- Freddy the Cowboy, 1950
- Freddy Rides Again, 1951
- Freddy the Pilot, 1952
- Freddy and the Space Ship, 1953
- The Collected Poems of Freddy the Pig, 1953
- Freddy and the Men from Mars, 1954
- Freddy and the Baseball Team From Mars, 1955
- Freddy and Simon the Dictator, 1956
- Freddy and the Flying Saucer Plans, 1957
- Freddy and the Dragon, 1958
See also
In Spanish: Freddy el cerdito para niños
