I’m always afraid that a book with an animal on the cover will not offer more than a superficial helping of cuteness, so perhaps I was scared off from “The Good Good Pig,” imaging a type of “Green Acres” horror. But now I am kicking myself for waiting so long to enjoy such a wonderful read!

Part of the great appeal is the author’s style, then the wide ranging subject matter, and the rest is up to Christopher Hogwood himself, who carries a small memoir very well. Born a runt among runts, he was adopted out to the author and her husband when he was so small that he fit into a shoebox. But he was a pig with a powerful heart and will, and he grew up, fulfilling his dharma, and touching many lives in unexpected ways.

Fans of James Herriot, Temple Grandin, or Bill Bryson, may enjoy Sy Montgomery, as she combines a page-turning story with historic, scientific, and cultural

asides. A naturalist, author, and screen writer, Sy has gone to some of the world’s most unique areas to unravel ecological puzzles. She has passed through dark places in her life and travels, which makes her writing all the more insightful, and her love of her bucolic town in New Hampshire all the more special.