a favorite book series: Holly Hobbie's "Toot & Puddle"

My mother in law once loaned us a collection of pig books from her elementary school classroom to peruse with our lads.  Among the favorites was Toot and Puddle by Holly Hobbie.  This porcine duo lives in Woodcock Pocket.  Toot has an appetite for adventure and likes to travel far and near.  In Wish You Were Here, he finds himself in Borneo suffering from violet virus after being stung by a bee.  He writes home to Puddle, the happy homebody, who with some help finds a holistic remedy in the form of some special tea.  Though he would much rather stay at home, Puddle goes out searching for Toot -- all the way to the Top of the World. 

There are several other titles in the series, some that Holly Hobbie wrote and some that others have written since then.   I think it's been turned into a TV series as well, and is somehow affiliated with National Geographic.

Another fun one by Holly Hobbie is Fanny, in which a spunky, resourceful young lady decides to make her own doll to play with, even if it doesn't look exactly like the "it" dolls of the moment that her friends have.

Ms. Hobbie's charming illustrations and lovable characters make for fun reading all 'round.