Whatever behavior problem your child is currently having (living in a pigsty, ignoring you when you talk, picky eating), chances are its been addressed in the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series of books by Betty MacDonald. The series of five books was published in the ’40s and ’50s and written by an author who was already famous for her smash book, The Egg and I. In the Piggle-Wiggle series, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is a kind of magical good fairy whose late husband left her a pirate chest full of cures for childhood “ailments.” In each chapter, a mother who is concerned about her child’s behavior comes to see Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle for help and is issued a cure that clears the troublesome behavior right up.

Some of the cures are relatively pedestrian: when Hubert Prentiss won’t clean up his bedroom, his mother simply lets the toys pile up until he can’t get out of his room anymore and is forced to clean it up himself. Other cures are magical: When Evelyn Rover and Mary Crackle are being unkind to Cornelia Whitehouse, Mrs. Crackle gives the girls some candy-like Whisper Sticks that makes their teasing inaudible.

Regardless of whether the cures are real-world or not (I could use some Crybaby Tonic, for sure), it’s fun to read about a kid having a behavior issue to a kid who’s having that same issue, and it can spark both interesting conversations and maybe even change. At the very least, kids love hearing about naughtiness and comeuppance, good adults who know everything, and stories that end happily. And neither parents nor children can resist the Piggle-Wiggle illustrations, some by Hilary Knight of Eloise fame, and some by Maurice Sendak.

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