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Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle is the title of a series of books by Betty MacDonald.The first book in this series is called Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and sequels include Hello Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm.

Synopsis

The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series stars a small lady who lives in a lively neighborhood inhabited mainly by children who have bad habits.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle has a chest full of magical cures left to her by her deceased husband, Mr. Piggle-Wiggle, who was a pirate. Whenever a parent has a problem with their child/children's bad habits, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle gives them a special cure. Cures range from the fairly mundane, (the Won't-Pick-Up-Toys Cure involves not requiring a small boy to pick up his toys for several weeks until he's unable to escape from his room) to the fantastic (the Interrupting Cure is a special powder that is blown on the interrupter, with the effect that it causes the person to become temporarily mute every time he/she tries to interrupt someone). Another cure is when a girl named Patsy didn't take baths, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle told the girl's mother to put radish seeds on Patsy's dirt-encrusted skin, and soon she grew radishes. She is so tired of it and begs for a baths. Another cure is the Won't Brush My Teeth Cure. When a small girl refuses to brush her teeth until they mildew so Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle sends over her dog Wag who is specially trained to brush his teeth until they glow.

Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle later sells her house in town and moves to a farm, where she continues to help children over come their bad habits.

The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle stories were based on bedtime stories Betty made up for her daughters, nephews, and nieces (and later grandchildren and grand-nephews/-nieces). Some of the children have the same names as members of the original audience (for example, there is a pair of brothers called Darcie and Bard). This explains some of the inconsistancies, such as Mrs. P.-W. being either a good witch/fairy or just someone who understands child psychology better than most professors of the subject.

The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Series

Chapter Title	Main Character(s)	Problem/Misbehavior	Cure Employed	Other Children Introduced
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Herself	Mary Lou Robertson, Kitty Wheeling	hates washing dishes (Mary Lou), hates making beds (Kitty)	makes both tasks a fun game and a race	Bobby Wheeling, Dicky Williams, Max
The Won't-Pick-Up-Toys Cure	Hubert Prentiss	won't pick up his toys	left alone with his toys until he is unable to leave his room	Charlie, Billy Peters, Tommy Peters, Ermintrude Bags, Gregory Moohead, Susan Grapple
The Answer-Backer Cure	Molly O'Toole (mostly called Mary in this book, renamed to Molly subsequently	impudence	Penelope the parrot is equally rude, giving her a taste of her own medicine	Calliope Ragbag, Chuckie Keystop, Garry Garrison
The Selfishness Cure	Dick Thompson	won't share anything	the "Selfishness Kit" labels everything as Dick's property, causing him embarrassment and ridicule	Bobby Slater, Kenny Hatch
The Radish Cure	Patsy	won't take baths	left alone so she is caked with dirt, then radishes are planted on her	Prunella Brown, Paraphernalia Grotto, Cormorant Broomrack
The Never-Want-To-Go-To-Bedders Cure	Bobby Gray, Larry Gray, Susan Gray	don't want to go to bed	allowed to stay up late until they are so tired that they can't function during the day	Catherine Grassfeather, Wilfred Grassfeather, Worthington Gardenfield, Guinevere Gardenfield
The Slow-Eater-Tiny-Bite-Taker Cure	Allen	picky eater	Slow-Eater-Tiny-Bite-Taker Dishes serve him increasingly small portions until he lacks energy to function	Wetherill Crankminor, Pergola Wingsproggle
The Fighter-Quarrelers Cure	Anne Russell, Joan Russell	bickering	parents mimic the fighting of the children, who get to see how unpleasant it is	Jasper Quitrick, Myrtle Quitrick
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic	--	--	--	Marilyn Matson, Johnny Wilfred, Julie Ward, Johnny Green
The Thought-You-Saiders Cure	Darsie Burbank, Alison Burbank, Bard Burbank	deliberately misinterpreting others as a joke	powder makes hearing super-sensitive when sprinkled in the ear	Terry Teagle, Theresa Teagle
The Tattletale Cure	Wendy Hamilton, Timmy Hamilton	tattling	pills convert tattletales into puffs of smoke with tails	Marty Phillips
The Bad-Table-Manners Cure	Christopher Brown	bad table manners	Lester the pig demonstrates beautiful table manners	Percy Penzil, Pamela Penzil, Potter Penzil
The Interrupters	Benji Franklin, Sally Franklin, Stevie Franklin	interrupting	Interrupter Powder takes away the voice of someone who interrupts	--
The Heedless Breaker	Sharon Rogers	carelessness and clumsiness	powder slows down bodily movement	--
The Never-Want-To-Go-To-Schooler	Jody Jones	truancy	Ignorance Tonic induces stupidity, causing him to desire knowledge	Jan Jones, Julie Jones, Linda Jones, Armand Armadillo
The Waddle-I-Doers	Lee Wharton, Mimi Wharton	boredom	a treasure hunt	--; this story includes most of the children from the first two books
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm
The Not Truthful Cure	Fetlock Harroway	lying	Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's animals ensure that there is no need to lie in order to impress	Wembley Rustad, Winifred Feathering, Williver Mallett
The Pet Forgetter Cure	Rebecca Rolfe	forgets to take care of pets	Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle "forgets" to feed her and locks her out, so she knows how it feels	Cedric Bent-Smith, Eunice Hendricks
The Destructiveness Cure	Jeffie Phillips	takes things apart and can't reassemble them	everything he takes apart brings him more work, prompting him to learn how to fix things	Billy Robinson, Donnie Harpoon, Wickie Rockstall, Electra Rockstall
The Fraidy-Cat Cure	Phoebe Jackstraw	irrational fear	an emergency helps her overcome her fear and find inner strength	Jeremy Jackstraw, Chuckie Jackstraw, Georgie Jackstraw, Imogene Haversack, Shirley Melancholy, Kathy Melancholy
The Can't Find It Cure	Morton Heatherwick	easily distracted	shamed into focusing when his help is needed	Enterprise Beecham
Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
The Show-Off Cure	Phillip Carmody	showing off	Show-off Powder makes him invisible when showing off	Connie Carmody, Bobby Westover, Billy Markle
The Crybaby Cure	Melody Foxglove	excessive crying	Crybaby Tonic makes her unable to stop her tears when crying	Cornell Foxglove, Harvard Foxglove, Emmy Foxglove, Trent Popsickle, Tansy Popsickle, Betsy Wilt
The Bully	Nicholas Semicolon	cruelty to younger children and animals	Leadership Pills bring out leadership qualities (Bullybaths, which weaken the bather so they can be pushed around, are rejected in favor of these)	Roscoe Eager, Billy MacIntosh, Sylvia Crouch, Jimmy Gopher, Priscilla Wick, the Adams twins
The Whisperer	Evelyn Rover, Mary Crackle, Cornelia Whitehouse	gossipy whispering	Whisper Sticks take away the voice	Karen Elroyd, Bobby Crackle, Billy Crackle, Corinthian Bop
The Slowpoke	Harbin Quadrangle	daydreaming	spray makes him extremely alert and focused	Sylvia Quadrangle, Janey Quadrangle, Annabell, Mona, Kathy, Georgie Wilcox

In other media

There is a musical entitled The Magic Mrs. Piggle Wiggle.
In the 1990s, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle was made into a TV series, starring Jean Stapleton, of All in the Family fame.