When Pigs Fly

by June Rae Wood

Book Overview

Buddy's life has never been easy -- between caring for Reenie, her younger sister born with Down's Syndrome, and watching her parents struggle to pay the bills, she barely has time for normal teenage worries. But when her parents decide to sell their house and move the family to a dilapidated old farm, Buddy thinks pigs will fly before she's happy again. The old farmhouse, however, holds some surprising secrets that may make Buddy realize just how...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0698115708
• ISBN13: 9780698115705
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Paperstar Book
• Length: 259 Pages
• Weight: 0.63 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.9" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

a must read book

Kids these days don't care what people look like on the inside. They only care about what's on the outside. This book teaches you that just because a child may have a mental disability or down's syndrome,they aren't any different then you or me. Buddy struggles with dallas's problems and her own but she finds people who care and make it through in this book. You will definatly make a mistake if you don't read this thrilling story about an older sister overcoming her own problem to help her sister make it through. You will love it. Seriously.

When Pigs Fly

I think that someone would like to read this book because it has to do with real life. For example, girls moving and really missing their friends. The character in the book has to move but doesn't want to. I think girls would really enjoy this book because they could iddentify with the characters. The author builds suspense by putting a lot of details in the story. She doesn't give away the ending but provides waht you want to know. For example, Reenie lost sight of her sister and could not find her, but after a while the author finally told everything after a lot of details. Whoever reads this book, will enjoy it a lot! Amanda H. A student at C.E. Utt Middle School

When Pigs Fly

WHEN PIGS FLY The book WHEN PIGS FLY is basically about a girl named Buddy and her life. Buddy has a sister Reenie, also known as "the flash" because she'll disappear if you take your eyes off her for one second. Reenie is nine years old and has down syndrome. This is a disease that she was born with and many kids make fun of her. Buddy's best friend is Jiniwin. Jiniwin doesn't make fun of her sister Reenie. Buddy and Jiniwin live in the same subdivision in Turnback. They walk to and from school together every day. Jiniwin and Buddy are always together. Jiniwin always sleeps over Buddy's house because her mother is always too busy with work and her father lives out of state. Jiniwin hates staying home alone because she is scared that someone will break in. Everything in the book goes great until Buddy finds out that she is moving to her Aunt Ruby's old house which is four miles out into the country. When Jiniwin finds out that Buddy's moving she's not too happy. Even though she doesn't want to, when Buddy moves out into the country, Jiniwin will have to do what scares her most, stay home alone. Buddy and her family can not move to her Aunt Ruby's old house right away. The house is old and run down and needs to be cleaned up and fixed. Everyone, including Jiniwin, helps to clean the place up. When they are finished cleaning Aunt Ruby's house they begin to pack their things at their old house. It takes them two days to pack everything and when they were done they move. Buddy and Reenie would now have to take the bus to school because they would not be able to walk four miles into town. Kids on the bus make fun of Reenie because she is disabled. They call her a retard and they poke her. Buddy meets this kid named Dallas on the bus. Every day when they see him on the bus he has a prize for Reenie. He is so nice to her. Dallas is a very mysterious person. This book is great. I really enjoyed it. It's a must read. I say this because when I first started reading the book I didn't want to put it down. I read it during lunchtime in school, free time in school, at home, and on the bus. Everything in the book was great except for one thing. The fact that kids made fun of Reenie. There are a lot of things that the reader can learn from this book. I learned that everyone has feelings, even handicapped people. I felt sad when I was reading about Reenie being teased and made fun of. I also learned that it's not just the person being teased and made fun of whose feelings get hurt. Their friends and families feel sad too. The reader will understand how it feels to be teased and made fun of. If I were the person being made fun of I wouldn't want them to make fun of me, so I don't make fun of anyone. *Treat others the way you would like to be treated! * That is the lesson of this book. June Rae Wood is also the author of The Man Who Loved Clowns. I plan on reading that book some time this year. June Rae Wood is a great author!

When Pigs Fly

My 10 year old son and I read this book for his school reading project. Even though the book is written from a young girls perspective, it still kept my son's attention and had many life lessons that he understood and enjoyed. A great read for parents and children alike!

Whan Pigs Fly is a really good book.

This story is about Buddy and Jiniwin, who are best friends. Buddy has a sister, named Reenie, who has Down's Syndrome. Buddy's family moves into an old farmhouse that looks like a witch's head. Jiniwin's mom is never home and she is going to get married again. Jiniwin is so upset she starts drinking alcohol. Buddy and Jiniwin are taking care of "egg babies" for school. They get mad at each other when Jiniwin thinks Reenie has hidden her egg. This story teaches us that it is not important what other people think of you, but what you think of yourself. This story has lots of action and lots of idioms. It is almost as good as The Man Who Loved Clowns. The Official June Rae Wood Fan Club (Mrs. Heil's Second Graders at Scott Magnet School)