In these posts I hope to share a little about what I am reading with my two children. Not exactly a review but a look at a book we’ve read together and how it worked for us. For context, my daughters are currently 7- and 10-years old. They are both excellent independent readers but we choose to continue our family habit of reading a chapter together before bedtime.
Babe is one of not that many books where I watched the movie long before I ever read (or even knew about) the book. I was 9-years-old when the movie came out and I absolutely loved it. We later owned it on VHS and I don’t think I could even guess how many times I watched that video. It was later that I learned it was based on a book and I went back and read it. So the book never had quite the same impact for me but I still wanted to share it with my own children.
The book is short, scarcely over 100 pages. It’s very English and very old-fashioned with its setting of a traditional sheep farm. My kids noticed some overlaps with the story of Charlotte’s Web – particularly a young pig on a farm who is destined for the dinner table. Babe doesn’t have the same tension of Charlotte’s Web in that it’s established fairly early on that nobody is going to eat Babe. We’ve always been straightforward with our kids that yes, the meat on our table comes from animals, but I can imagine some children being more sensitive in this area.
The book tells the story of a young pig named Babe who is raised amongst sheep-dogs and then becomes a sheep-pig, learning to herd the farm’s sheep simply by asking them politely. It’s a very sweet story and great for bedtime because it’s overall not that stressful. Babe comes to the rescue of the sheep more than once and quickly endears himself with both Farmer and Mrs. Hoggett. The climax comes at the sheepdog trials but even there it felt pretty clear that Babe would be successful.
After reading the book together, we watched the movie as a family and it’s just as charming as I remembered. Honestly, I love this movie so much. There are some changes made – two dogs rather than one and one of the dogs doesn’t approve of Babe being a sheep-pig, a cat who acts as a villain, and other aspects to add a little more depth to the world of the farm – but the heart of the story is the same in both. The movie creates more tension around the final show trial by tightening up the timeline and I didn’t think this was a bad change as it brings a more satisfying conclusion.
This book probably would be better suited to kids slightly younger than my own but my girls still enjoyed it a lot. With its low stakes storyline and sweet setting, it made a great bedtime story that culminated in a lovely family movie night.
Karissa Reads Books 
I had no idea Babe was a book before it was a film!
It was filmed in Robertson in NSW, the home of the Big Potato. We’re into ‘big’ things in Australia.
We watched the movie as a family after reading the book and it struck me as funny that Farmer Hogget and his wife sound very American but the farm is clearly not in the USA. The movie is a lot more famous than the book and maybe because I saw the movie first, I do kind of love it more.
The film was much-loved in our household, too 😀
I completely forgot that Babe is successful because he asks politely. Isn’t that just a lovely message? I didn’t realize this was a book. Of course, it makes me think of Charlotte’s Web, but that book is just devastating throughout. And how scary is Templeton the rat!
Yes! I think this is emphasized even more in the book. Babe is simply a polite young pig and so everyone wants to help him! The book isn’t anywhere like as devastating as Charlotte’s Web. In fact, it really has very little tension. The movie definitely tweaks the story for some more drama.