Photo courtesy of Paul Minor

Daisy the Pig and Farmer Paul Minor share a good story, which they will do with children Tuesday, May 13, 10 a.m., at Southington Public Library, 255 Main St.

The Early Childhood Collaborative of Southington in conjunction with the Southington Library will be hosting Pig Out on Reading with Farmer (Paul) Minor and Daisy, the famous potbelly pig on Tuesday, May 13, 10 a.m., at the Southington Library in celebration of 2008 Children's Book Week. The public is welcome to listen to stories and meet Daisy. Each child who attends will be given a copy of one of Daisy's favorite books.

Daisy became the first pig ever invited inside the U.S. Capitol while on her first national tour in 2002. She also received her own letter from First Lady Laura Bush. Daisy has met U.S. legislators, foreign dignitaries and celebrities, and has hundreds of library cards from libraries and schools across the United States. The famous pig has been featured in newspapers around the world, TV news coast-to-coast and has been in Weekly Reader and Time for Kids. She's been kissed by countless numbers of school principals, teachers, librarians, business executives, mayors, celebrities and hundreds of thousands of school children. People kiss Daisy for a number of reasons, Minor said, ranging from promises kept to students for reading lots of books to fundraising efforts on behalf of non-profit groups, but mostly, just because they enjoy meeting her.

Daisy has presented programs in all 48 contiguous states and has been on three national tours While most of Daisy's work deals with reading programs, she also presents programs at senior centers, assisted living facilities, convalescent homes and churches.

During the program, Minor will tell true stories about Daisy's formative years, give Daisy a treat, and talk about Daisy's pampered porcine life and about how she became the most famous pig. Minor brings his own rocking chair and many of her favorite pig books. Daisy probably has the world's largest collection of "pig books," Minor said. At the end of the program, following the Daisy pledge, all visitors are able to pet Daisy and receive a pig stamp on their hands.

For more information, contact Sarah at (203) 639-9940 or check out www.daisyminor.com. Funding for this program was provided by the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund. ECCS is a group of parents, early childcare providers, school staff and concerned citizens working "to ensure that all of Southington's children enter school ready to learn." To learn more log on to www.southingtonearlychildhood.org.

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