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Penguin Readers Factsheets
T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
Babe: Pig in the City
Adapted from the novelization by Justine Korman and
Ron Fontes
Based on the screenplay by George Miller, Judy Morris
and Mark Lamprell
Based on the characters created by Dick King-Smith
S U M M A R Y
he film ‘Babe: Pig in the City’ is the enchanting
T sequel to the hugely successful film ‘Babe - The
Sheep-Pig’ (or ‘Babe: A Little Pig Goes a Long
Way’), and was released in 1998. The Penguin Reader
Babe: Pig in the City is adapted from the novelization of
the film.
In Babe: The Sheep-Pig, Babe is a clever little pig who
learns to work as a sheepdog - hence the name ‘sheep-
pig’. Babe’s methods are unusual. Unlike the sheepdogs,
Babe talks to the sheep in a polite and friendly manner. He
wins first prize at the national sheepdog trials and
becomes famous.
Babe: Pig in the City opens with Babe’s owner, Farmer
Hoggett, in need of money to save his farm. The world-
famous Babe has been invited to America to work with
some sheep. The money he will earn will repay his
master’s debts. So Babe and Mrs Hoggett fly to the USA.
However, Mrs Hoggett misses her plane connection, and
she and Babe find themselves staying at a hotel where a
lot of animals live secretly, among them a group of
chimpanzees. The farmer’s wife disappears, and Babe
finds himself at the mercy of the chimps...
All kinds of amusing and sometimes hair-raising
adventures follow. Finally, Mrs Hoggett, swinging from a
chandelier, arrives to rescue her pig and everything ends
happily. As Farmer Hoggett says at the end of the story,
‘Everything’s all right now, pig. Everything’s all right.’
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The original story about Babe, Babe: The Sheep-Pig, was
written by Dick King-Smith in 1983. Dick King-Smith
published his first story in 1978 at the age of 58. Before
that, he had worked as a farmer for twenty years; Babe is
based on these farming experiences.
Babe: The Sheep-Pig gained huge popularity and won
an important Children’s Fiction award. The screenplay of
Babe: The Sheep-Pig was co-written by its director, Chris
Noonan and co-producer, George Miller. Miller was so
enthusiastic about the project that he went on to co-
produce, direct and co-write ‘Babe: Pig in the City’. He
wrote the screenplay together with Judy Morris and Mark
Lamprell.
Given the success of the original ‘Babe’, a sequel was
inevitable, but it took three years for ‘Babe: Pig in the City’
to appear on the screen. A novelization of the film was
then written by Justine Korman and Ron Fontes.
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ELEMENTARY
The Australian George Miller is a much admired director
who began his career as a medical doctor. His films,
always original, include the stylish Mad Max trilogy,
starring Mel Gibson, and the bewitchingly playful Witches
of Eastwick, starring Jack Nicholson.
BACKGROUND AND THEMES
BABE: PIG IN THE CITY
In Babe: Pig in the City, the writers perform the difficult
task of creating a genuinely original story while retaining
the innocent charm of the first book.
Whereas Farmer Hoggett was the ‘human’ hero in the
first story, Mrs Hoggett plays the part of the ‘human’
heroine in this story. She is a changed character, no longer
threatening to eat Babe for her Christmas dinner (as she
did in the first book). Instead, she is dedicated to Babe’s
well-being, and much of her time in the story is spent
searching for her lost pig.
The problems Babe and Mrs Hoggett encounter are
more sinister than in Babe: The Sheep-Pig. They are in the
big, bad city, after all. (Interestingly, we are never told
which city it is.) Mrs Hoggett gets searched for drugs by
the police, she gets mugged, then arrested . . . As for
Babe, the adorable pig hero, he discovers that in the city,
animals are out to harm him rather than help him. He is
cheated out of money he has earned, and is told that
‘Nobody wins in the city. And nobody helps anybody.’
However, nothing can stop Babe from being the
innocent, very good little creature that he is. He rescues
the animals which try to hurt him, and even a vicious pit-
terrier dog that was determined to kill him ends by
snarling, ‘The pig is boss now. OK?’
Once again, the animals are enchanting. There is
Thelonius, a cynical orang-utan who insists on dressing
even when the police are after him. There’s Bob, a happily
married chimpanzee who loves to watch TV; Zootie, his
heavily pregnant wife; and Flealick, a dog whose back
legs are on wheels.
A lovely humour ripples through the story. ‘Am I an
orang-utan or am I a human? I don’t know,’ muses
Thelonius. ‘That’s my human!’ cries Babe when he sees
Mrs Hoggett. And Zootie, never having seen a pig before,
refers to Babe only as ‘the thing’. ‘Where’s the thing?’ she
asks.
The mix of real humans, animals and animatronic
(electronic) animals is faultless. Like all truly good films,

Penguin Readers Factsheets
T e a c h e r’s n o t e s
‘Babe: Pig in the City’ creates the impression of a whole
new world, with detail and incident in every corner. What
is it that makes Babe and his world so enchanting, even
for adults? Perhaps it is that in our hearts we all long for a
world where innocence wins through. Sadly, we know that
children, being human, are not as innocent as we would
like them to be. But animals, having no knowledge of good
and evil, retain a kind of purity that we can accept,
provided that the story is told with humour (perhaps this is
the secret of Disney’s success). As for children, their more
limited experience of the world allows their imagination
much greater range. Why shouldn’t animals talk? Why
shouldn’t a sweet little pig make friends in the city?
Communicative activities
The following teacher-led activities cover the same
sections of text as the exercises at the back of the reader,
and supplement those exercises. Further supplementary
exercises, covering shorter sections of the book, can be
found on the photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of
BABE: PIG IN THE CITY
this Factsheet. These are primarily for use with class
readers, but with the exception of pair/groupwork
questions, can also be used by students working alone in
a self-access centre.
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
1 Teach the word ‘illustrate’. Then put students into pairs
and ask them to answer these questions.
(a) The name of the book is Babe: Pig in the City.
Look at the picture on the front of the book. How
does the picture illustrate the name of the book?
(b) What do you think will happen to the pig in the
city?
(c) What do you know about pigs? Write down three
things.
2 Photocopy the pictures of the animals opposite page
1, but blank out the names beneath the pictures. Write
the names of the animals on the board. Put students in
pairs. Ask them to use their dictionaries where
necessary to match the names with the animals. Then
ask them what they know about these animals:
chimpanzee, monkey, Doberman, bull terrier
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION
Chapters 1-2
1 Put students into groups. Ask them to write definitions
of the following words without using the words
themselves. Then they give the words to another group
and this group has to say which words they are
describing.
well bank detective drugs plane airport hotel
Chapters 3-5
1 Put students into pairs and ask them to answer these
questions.
(a) What bad things happen in the city to
(i) Mrs Hoggett and (ii) Babe?
(b) Who does these bad things to Babe and
Mrs Hoggett?
2 Ask students to write five questions asking why the
© Pearson Education Limited 1999
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people and animals in this story do bad things.
Example: Why does the girl take Mrs Hoggett’s bag?
Why does Bob push the ‘stairs’ away in Chapter 4?
Elicit these questions and write them on the board.
Then put students in groups to discuss the answers.
Encourage students to look for the deeper reasons for
the actions. For example, their answers might be that
life in a city is hard and so people and animals are
hard. Then have a whole class discussion on the
subject.
3 Ask students if they agree with this statement from
Chapter 4: ‘This is the city. Nobody wins in the city.
And nobody helps anybody.’
Chapters 6-8
Put students into groups. Ask them to make a list of
things that they really enjoyed in these chapters. Then
they have to agree on one thing that they think is the
funniest/most enjoyable. Then, as a whole class activity,
write up each group’s favourite happening on the board.
Students then vote for the most enjoyable one.
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
Put students into small groups. Ask them to look up the
word nasty in their dictionaries. Then ask them to discuss
the following question.
Which animal in the book is (a) the cleverest? (b) the
stupidest? (c) the nastiest? (d) the kindest? (e) the funniest
(apart from Babe)?
Glossary
It will be useful for your students to know the following new words.
They are practised in the Before You Read sections of exercises at
the back of the book. (Definitions are based on those in the Longman
Active Study Dictionary.)
Chapters 1-2
drug (n) people take drugs to change the way they feel
farm (n) people live and work here. They grow food or keep animals.
human (n) a person
smell (v) to use your nose
soon (adv) a short time after
stone (n) this is round and very hard; you find it in the ground
well (n) a deep hole (see below) in the ground, with water in it
Chapters 3-5
ceiling (n) the top of a room
clown (n) this person wears funny clothes and makes people laugh
hide (v) to put something in a place and hope nobody finds it
hole (n) an opening in something
landlady (n) this woman owns a house; other people stay there and
give her money
rollerblades (n) shoes with wheels (see below)
wheel (n) this is round and turns round and round (a car has four
wheels)
Chapters 6-8
balcony (n) a place above the ground on the outside of a house;
people sit on it
braces (n) these are long and thin; without braces somebody’s
trousers will fall down
chandelier (n) a very large and expensive light
lock (v) to close a door with a key
research (v) to study and find new things
van (n) a large car
Published and distributed by Pearson Education
Factsheet written by Mary Tomalin
Factsheet series developed by Louise James
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Penguin Readers Factsheets
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Student’s activities 1

2
Photocopiable Babe: Pig in the City 3
Student can do these activiites alone or with one or more
other students.
4

Activities before reading the book 5

1 Read the Introduction in the book and look at the (c) Babe talks to the dog. 6
names of the chapters. Then answer these questions. (d) The night cleaner gives Mrs Hoggett a paper with
(a) Where is the Flealands Hotel? Do you think it is the name, ‘Flealands Hotel’.
near the farm? Why do you think this? (e) They can’t find a hotel. ELEMENTARY
(b) Who is Fugly? (f) Ferdinand follows the plane.
(c) Which animal in the story is dangerous? (g) The detectives take Mrs Hoggett to a little room.
(d) The name of Chapter 7 is ‘Mrs Hoggett Flies’. 2 Write a letter from Mrs Hoggett to Farmer Hoggett.
What does this mean? Look at the picture in Tell him about your journey.
Chapter 7 for the answer.
(e) Look at the pictures in the book. How many CHAPTERS 3 - 5
monkeys are there? Which picture shows the
chimpanzees? Chapter 3
2 Do you know the story of Babe - The Sheep-Pig? 1 What do you know about these people and animals?
Tell the story to a friend. Then complete the sentences Flealick, Tug, Bob, Zootie, Easy, Thelonius, Fugly

BABE: PIG IN THE CITY

with these words. (You don’t know the story? Just Floom, Nigel and Alan
complete the sentences. They tell the story of Babe -
The Sheep-Pig.) Look up new words in your 2 Find the word ‘puzzle’ in your dictionary. Read the
dictionary. sentences and complete the puzzle. When you finish
the puzzle you will see a new word. What is it?
polite famous wife eat different won clever
work (a) Fugly Floom’s clothes are old and .......
(b) Flealick thinks Babe is this.
Mr Hoggett, a farmer, (1) ................. a little pig. The
name of the little pig was ‘Babe’. The farmer’s (2) (c) There are three of these in this chapter.
................. wanted to eat the little pig. But the little (d) Babe is a .......
pig was very (3) ................. and friendly. It learnt to (4) (e) The chimpanzees are wearing these.
................. with sheep. So now it was a ‘sheep-pig’. (f) Thelonius is wearing these.
But it was (5) ................. from the sheepdogs. It was
(g) Zootie has a fat one.
very (6) ................. to the sheep and the sheep liked
this. Because of this, it got very (7) ................. and (h) A man is this. A woman is this.
was on television. And Mrs Hoggett didn’t want to (8) (i) Fugly made a strange ..........
................. Babe any more!
(a) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(b) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(c) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Activities while reading the book
(d) _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _
CHAPTERS 1 - 2 (e) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(f) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Chapter 1
1 Answer these questions. (g) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(a) Babe can do something different from other pigs. (h) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
What is it? (i) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
(b) What happens to Farmer Hoggett?
(c) Farmer Hoggett has another problem. What is it? Chapter 4
(d) How many people and animals leave the farm? 1 These sentences are wrong. Make them right.
Who or what are they? (a) Mrs Hoggett shouts ‘Pig!’ at the policemen.
(e) Why do they leave the farm?
(b) A young man takes Mrs Hoggett’s bag.
2 How do you think these people or animals feel at the
end of the chapter? (c) Fugly Floom takes Babe to a school.
Babe, Farmer Hoggett, Mrs Hoggett, Fly, Ferdinand (d) Fugly falls over the gun.
(e) Babe gets his money from Fugly.
Chapter 2
1 Put these sentences in the right order. (f) Babe climbs up the boxes and chair because he
wants to leave the hotel.
(a) Mrs Hoggett and Babe are too late for their
plane. (g) Babe falls out of the window and on to the
(b) The dog stands near a bag and makes a loud ground.
noise. (h) Fugly goes to the police station.

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Penguin Readers Factsheets
Student’s activities
2 Work with two other students.
Student A: You are Bob. Listen to Student C and answer
him/her.
Student B: You are Thelonius. Listen to Student C and
answer him/her.
Student C: Talk to Bob and Thelonius. Do you think they
are kind to Babe? What would you like to say
to them? Make the conversation.
Chapter 5
1 What happens after . . .
(a) Fugly goes to hospital?
(b) Babe goes through the hole in the wall?
(c) Tug sees Babe and the bull terrier?
(d) the bull terrier sees two eyes in the garden?
(e) the bull terrier jumps in the river?
(f) Babe helps the bull terrier?
BABE: PIG IN THE CITY
2 Answer these questions.
(a) How does the bull terrier change?
(b) How does he stay the same?
(c) How are Babe and the bull terrier different?
CHAPTERS 6 - 8
Chapter 6
1 Finish these sentences.
(a) Ferdinand finds Babe because ......
(b) Thelonius is angry with Babe because .......
(c) The policeman says, ‘Come and look at this!’
because .......
(d) Babe gets away from the policeman because .......
(e) Flealick follows the van because ........
(f) Ferdinand doesn’t want Babe to help the animals
because .....
(g) Babe follows Flealick because ........
(h) Babe says, ‘We have to be careful,’ because ........
2 Work with another student. Find the word ‘imagine’ in
your dictionary. Then talk about these questions.
(a) What do you think the men want to do to Thelonius
and the animals?
(b) What do you think will happen next? How can
Babe help the animals?
(c) The animals were not kind to Babe but he wants to
help them. Imagine you are Babe. Will you help the
animals? Why/why not?
Chapter 7
1 Answer these questions.
(a) Why does the detective say Mrs Hoggett can go?
(b) Ferdinand and Babe don’t feel the same about
something. What is it?
(c) Why does the landlandy cry? And why is she
angry?
(d) One little boy in the hospital is not asleep. Why do
his eyes open wide?
(e) Why doesn’t the doctor believe the little boy?
(f) Why is Babe happy?
(g) The animals come into a big room. Who and what
is in the room?
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(h) What does Mrs Hoggett do when she comes into
the big room?
(i) What happens to the chandelier and why?
(j) What happens to Zootie’s baby?
2 Answer these questions.
(a) What do these animals say when Babe finds them
in the dark room?
Bob Zootie the bull terrier
(b) What does Mrs Hoggett say to the woman in the
house across the river?
(c) What does Babe say when he sees Mrs Hoggett?
(d) What does Mrs Hoggett shout when she comes
into the big room?
(e) What do the important people say when they come
out from under the tables?
(f) What does Babe cry when he sees the little
chimpanzee?
3 Work with another student. Talk about these questions.
Babe always helps people. What do you think the other
animals in the book learn from him? Do you think he is
too kind? Say why/why not.
Chapter 8
1 (a) What does Farmer Hoggett say to Babe at the end
of the story?
(b) How is everything all right for these people and
animals?
(i) Babe
(ii) Farmer Hoggett
(iii) Mrs Hoggett
(iv) Thelonius
(v) the Landlady
(vi) Nigel, Alan and Flealick
(vii) Bob, Zootie, Easy and the baby chimpanzee
(c) For two people, everything is not all right. Who are
they and why aren’t they happy?
2 Babe is home on the farm again. Which do you think he
likes best, the city or the country? Why? Which do you
like best, the city or the country? Say why.
Activities after reading the book
1 Work with some other students. Talk about these
questions.
(a) How do you feel about animals? Do you like them
or do you only like some animals? Why do you like
them/don’t you like them?
(b) Do you think animals are cleverer than we think
they are? Why do you think this/don’t you think
this?
2 What do you think Babe will tell his farm friends about
his time in the city? Write his words.
Published and distributed by Pearson Education
Factsheet written by Mary Tomalin
Factsheet series developed by Louise James