from Piggybook by Anthony Browne

Is this a keeper? Piggybook by Anthony Browne

One of a librarian's jobs is to weed the collection, and though I'm not as sentimental as some people are about books, it's always a bit of a wrench to discard an almost-new picture book. (Of course it's only "new" in the sense of never been read much, which should be my answer.) I knew I had heard of this book before--it must have been on recommended lists or something--but I couldn't recall ever having read it. What caught my eye was the cover--a whole family--including a pinstripe-suited dad with a Cheshire cat grin--riding piggyback on the back of a woman who is decidedly not smiling. It's actually quite shocking, when you take a minute to look at it.
Obviously, the main theme of this story is how the mom in the family is completely taken for granted. The other members of the family (all men) are metaphorically, (and literally by the end,) pigs. It's dated, right? Does the illustration above resemble what goes on in your family? This book was published in the bad old days (1989?) but we don't need messages like this anymore, do we?
 Well, I just checked goodreads for more information on this book, and found many recent positive reveiws, including one from 2012 that says "Every family needs to read this book. Every. Night. Until they die." OK then. Maybe if it provokes that strong a reaction (and that wasn't the only one,) it deserves its place on the shelf. What do you think?