Kirkus Reviews
Read 10,00 books this year, challenges Principal Ms. Juliet, and she will kiss a pig. Dakos and DesMarteau’s principal, who will go to great lengths to get her charges to read, has already pulled some odd students, though kissing a pig is an invitation to make a child’s heart sing. The narrator has volunteered her pig Hamlet–a Shakespeare spouter of his own design. He cribs and tweaks some famous lines to register his disapproval, but when Hamlet’s eyes fall on the fair Juliet, however, he suddenly becomes much more interested. She gasps, then delivers on her promise. DiRocco’s artwork is fittingly busy and possesses good Elizabethan costumery and lots of funny details.

School Library Journal
Attempting to introduce children to Shakespeare in the guise of a verse-quoting pig is a novel idea. Displayed in thought balloons over Hamlet’s head are Shakespeare-inspired verses that express his initial dismay and eventual change of heart. These quotes, along with the lines that inspired them and a brief biography of the Bard are listed at the end of the book. DiRocco’s colorful watercolor illustrations highlight the most important moments and help bring the tale to life. His depiction of Hamlet dressed in 17th-century adds to the mood. Hamlet isn’t looking forward to smooching a stranger.

Booklist
The school principal, Ms. Juliet, promises to kiss a pig if the students read lots of books. Hamlet, a little girl’s pet pig, isn’t happy when his owner volunteers him for the kiss: “O, heavy heart, do not weep./This kiss has murdered sleep.” Then he sees Ms. Juliet and falls in love: “I never saw true beauty/Till this day.” Preschoolers will enjoy the slapstick. Older children will be disarmed by the humor, which may make this useful for helping students feel more relaxed about the Bard and his Elizabethan English. A guide at the back provides references to the plays and to the quotes.

Hickory Ridge Reader
A Weekly Column Reviewing Books for Children
Teachers and principals do many strange things to entice students to read. In Our Principal Promised to Kiss a Pig, she did just that. However, the pet pig chosen for the honor has other ideas. That is, until he sees the principal. Hamlet, the pig, goes home with a broken heart. The surprise ending keeps everybody happy. This funny picture book stars a Shakespeare-quoting pig with references to the sources of the quotations. Good reading.

Tricia Gibbons, Teacher and Award Winning Poet
The world of children has been waiting for Hamlet, the pig, to introduce them to
Shakespeare in this humorous, intelligent and endearing book.

Frank Hodge , Children’s Literature Specialist,
Hodge-Podge Books, Albany, New York
Ms. Juliet, the narrator just happens to have a pig she received from her aunt, an English teacher. The pig is named Hamlet. And now the fun begins. Poor Hamlet’s balloon speeches are adaptations of words from Shakespeare – with no apologies to Will – “To kiss, or not to kiss, The principal in school? Why choose a pig to be their fool?” Get your laugh machine ready. It is wonderful.

Watertown Daily Times, October 26, 2004
The pig of the book is Hamlet, a porcine pet partially raised by a Shakespeare buff. He thinks in verse and his new owner, an elementary student, promised to have him kiss the principal of her school, Ms Juliet, as the reward for a reading contest “I never saw true beauty/Till this day. Ms. Juliet is the sun/that lights my way.

“Our Principal Promised to Kiss a Pig contains 19 references to Shakespeare’s plays, all easy recognizable, albeit a bit bowdlerized and a little less grandiloquent. Ms. Dakos wrote the book with her daughter, Alicia DesMarteau, and included an appendix with each reference alongside the verse that inspired it.

The Ottawa Citizen, Kelly Roesler
It has all the elements of a Shakespearean drama – unrequited passion, doomed love and a hero who speaks in poetic verse. But here’s the thing – this love story is for kids and it stars a pig named Hamlet.

Hamlet, the pig, quotes such plays as Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and Romeo and Juliet. Since its release the book has delighted children and parents with its intriguing plot and Shakespearean twist.

Nepean This Week, Natalie Hanson
In Our Principal Promised to Kiss a Pig we meet the torment hog Hamlet who frets over the cruel destiny that would have him kiss the principal. Interspliced throughout Hamlet’s dialogue are modified snippets from the Bard’s most famous soliloquies. As well as the usually story book narrative, Dakos employs modified Shakespearean verse using modern day English.

“A pig to himself must be true,/In spite of plans that humans brew./Those we love we kiss for free./She shall not steal this kiss from me.” Hamlet bellows when faced with a smooch-ready principal.

By taking something not only children but also many adult view as complicated and bringing it down to a level a grade school child can understand, this book will help children with both reading and writing!

J. David Derosier, Special to Nepean this Week
Ah, Hamlet. A tragic lover with unrequited ardor, and a hero who uses passionate poetic verse to express himself. Shakespeare’s Hamlet? No. Kalli Dakos’ Hamlet. He’s a pig (literally) and the lead character in a new children’s book called Our Principal Promised to Kiss a Pig.

In this new book, the principal (Ms. Juliet) wants her students to read 10,000 books. Quite a feat. If they do, she’ll kiss a pig. But Hamlet is not a willing subject in this game. “To kiss, or not to kiss, the principal in school? Why choose a pig to be their fool?”

Paraphrasing the English playwright/poet/actor is an excellent balance to the narrator’s easy tone and simple words.

If the child asks, “Is that poetry?” and the parent replies that it comes from Shakespeare – what better way to get both parents and children interested in learning more?

I highly recommend this book to children of all ages (that includes parents).

Eowana Jordan, Retired Media Specialist, Prince William County Schools, Virginia
Shakespeare would have enjoyed reading this book to his own children.

The Ogdensburg Journal, Ogdensburg, NY
Each year millions of high school and college students are introduced to the works of William Shakespeare and a lot of them say works such as Julius Caesar, Macbeth, or Romeo or Juliet are boring, but thanks to Kalli Dakos, their younger brothers and sisters may find themselves coming home from school saying Shakespeare is a “boar”.

“Our Principal Promised to Kiss a Pig” features a pig named Hamlet and a principal named Ms. Juliet, and if these two names sound familiar to you, it’s not a coincidence. The book features 19 references to seven of Shakespeare’s plays and even a sonnet. These 19 references come in the form of dialogue, every time Hamlet speaks.