In this pitch packet:

• Elevator pitch
• Longer description
• Creator bio
• Main characters
• Secondary characters
• Synopsis
• Sample pages

Elevator pitch:

Hey Reader! Peter’s excited to share his favorite jokes with you—and then tell you why they’re funny. (Jokes are always better after somebody explains them, right?) But his sister’s nonsensical punchlines drive him increasingly batty. Will her wisecracks ruin market day for these little piggies, or will the final twist of her tale reveal a method to her madness?

Longer description:

A lighthearted day-in-the-life story about siblings driving each other nuts, but in the end, appreciating each other’s nuttiness. 

Peter is an earnest rule-follower who likes to do everything by-the-book. He’s excited that you, the Reader, are visiting, and he hopes to entertain you while you’re here by telling you jokes and then teaching you why they’re funny.

His twin sister Penny loves jokes, but her sense of humor doesn’t follow Peter’s joke rules. As she tells a series of seemingly pointless riddles that are impossible to explain, Peter grows more and more exasperated—until her final joke brings everything together. 

With subtle nods to the “this little piggy went to market” nursery rhyme, this 100-(ish)-page graphic novel is aimed at readers ages 6 to 9 who like stories featuring good-natured, silly rivalries between friends. Readers who enjoy the humor and the character dynamics of Pencil and Eraser by Jenny Alvarado and The Investigators by Patrick Green will connect with the witty back-and-forth of the piggy siblings. 

Creator bio:

I graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in English and film and have pursued creative jobs ever since — highlights were working as a pastry chef in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC and later, as a cake decorator in a suburb of Philly, where I now live with my husband and two kids. In my current “day job,” I’m a writer and editor for a company that publishes summaries to adult non-fiction books. 

My debut picture book, Izmelda the Fairest Dragon of Them All!, was published in 2023 by Union Square Books. I was previously represented by BookEnds Literary but parted ways after my agent left the agency (on good terms — happy to discuss details). I started drawing when my kids were young, creating nursery art for friends and family, and I’ve been developing my illustration skills since then. I’m now looking for an agent to represent my work as an author-illustrator for chapter books, illustrated middle grade, and picture books.

Main Characters:

Penny Pigg

In future books, as well as in the webcomic, Penny loves to immerse herself in viral self-improvement schemes, aiming to be the best version of herself she can be. She also constantly tries out different self-help advice she hears—but in a child-like way. She’s ambitious and dreams of one day being a multi-millionaire, either by becoming a CEO or a famous singer. Or something else. She’s always coming up with harebrained business ideas.  

Peter Pigg

In future books and in the webcomic, Peter is Penny’s comedic foil. He is also a fountain of knowledge. Sometimes that knowledge is interesting little-known facts, and sometimes, he just messes with Penny by telling her ridiculous things (sometimes true, sometimes… not so much). 

Lucy Pigg

Secondary Characters

Mom Pigg

The kids’ mom is doing the best she can raising three energetic children. She’s patient and encouraging, trying to raise responsible, kind piggies—but she can get exasperated when her kids push the limits of her patience. 

Dad Pigg

The kids’ father is a good-natured, affable guy who loves being a dad but is sometimes overwhelmed by the responsibility of it. He doesn’t appear “on-screen” in this first book, but in future books and in the webcomic, he’s an enthusiastic DIY-er who tries his best but doesn’t always hit the nail on the head—literally. 

Synopsis

Peter greets the Reader and lays out his plan to tell them jokes and then explain the jokes. Penny shows up and Peter tells her his plan. Penny is excited and tells an elephant joke, but the punchline doesn’t make any sense and Peter is confused.

The two kids go to find their mother and younger sister, Lucy, who are in the market. On their way, Peter tells a joke. Penny thinks it’s funny, then leaves to continue looking for Mom and Lucy. Peter explains the joke to the reader. Penny pops back in the frame to imply that explaining the joke didn’t actually make it funnier. 

They then find their mom and Lucy. Lucy drops her pickle and is upset. To cheer her up, Penny tells a joke—another elephant joke. It’s different from the first joke but is still nonsensical, and Peter gets annoyed. Lucy thinks it’s hilarious, though. 

Everyone meets up for lunch at a picnic table. Their mom has brought roast beef sandwiches but Penny has decided that she doesn’t like roast beef and refuses to eat. She descends into a bad mood.

Lucy tries to cheer her up by blowing bubbles, but they just collect on Penny’s face and she stays grumpy. Peter cheers her up by inviting her to tell another elephant joke. 

Excited, Penny tells another elephant joke, but it’s basically the exact same joke she just told (except that it involves TWO elephants instead of ONE). Peter gets annoyed again, but Lucy again finds it hilarious. 

Peter explains what makes a joke funny, and tells a joke to demonstrate. Lucy doesn’t understand the pun. Peter tries to explain, but Lucy overthinks it. Penny joins in and overthinks it even more. Peter gets exasperated that they’re taking the joke in directions it wasn’t designed for, but Penny tells him that yes, that joke did get better after they all explained it. 

Penny announces that she now understands jokes, and asks if she can tell another one. She promises it will be a good one. However, it’s the exact same elephant joke again—only, this time it involves THREE elephants. Peter is now really annoyed. 

He starts to leave, saying he’s going home. Penny protests, telling him she promises that these are good jokes, he just hasn’t seen that yet. She begs him to let her tell him just one more joke, which will prove that they’re good jokes. 

He refuses, but Penny asks the joke anyway—and yes, it’s the same joke question again, only with FOUR elephants this time. Peter refuses to answer the question, but Penny begs and begs and convinces him to. He finally does, by repeating the same punchline from the other jokes before. 

Penny says yes, that’s it, but then she adds one more line that brings back the original elephant joke, the one that started the whole thing but was forgotten about long ago. Peter is stunned. Penny and Lucy collapse into laughter. The laughter spreads through the entire market. A limo shows up and four elephants pop out, then join in the laughter.

Finally, we step out of the story in a “meta” way: the frame freezes and Peter steps in front of it. He addresses the reader, asking how they liked the story. He starts to explain the jokes, but Penny jumps in and stops him. He protests that he just wants to make sure the reader got all the references to the “this little piggy” nursery rhyme that were dropped throughout. Penny assures him the Reader did get the references. 

The story wraps up with Lucy running through, heading home crying “WHEE WHEE WHEE” all the way home. Then Peter and Penny say goodbye to the reader and close shutters on the frame to end the story. 

Sample Pages