A Piggly Wiggly Wedding

"Laughter, Liquor, and Lollygaggin" was one of my favorite little phrases in this latest Piggly Wiggly book, but there are so many more to choose from! "A Piggly Wiggly Wedding" is charming and packed with more laughs and ups and downs than planning an actual wedding! The NitWitts are a hilarious bunch and Dalby has painted them each so well that they are real women and not just caricatures. Along with the whimsical nature of the town of Second Creek (the summer being without fireflies and all) come more interesting characters such as "Mistress of the Scales Euterpe Simon" and "the Great Buddha Magruder!" There is plenty to be enjoyed on the light side, but this book has real heart too. One of the NitWitts has Alzheimer's and having had a family member with the disease, I know how heartbreaking it can be. Dalby handles the subject with great care and grace. and of course at the wedding of Gaylie Girl and Mr Choppy....oh but I don't want to spoil it! :) Romantic, dramatic, and I'll say it again, WHIMSICAL are the best words to describe this latest novel. If you're not from the South, after reading this you'll want to be!

The happiness I have received from Robert Dalby's Piggly Wiggly series is amazing!!!! All three of his Pigggly Wiggly books have been so entertaining but I love the "Piggly Wiggly Wedding" the very best!!! I have grown to love the Nitwits in Second Creek and they remind me so much of my grandmother's friends in Natchez, Mississippi. They called themselves "the RIDERS" because they would pile up in the car after dining on a delightful lunch and ride around Natchez together to see if they could see any changes in the town or see if there were any changes that needed to be made. With Dalby's books you get romance, laughter, mystery, friendship,loyalty,small town living and love of the characters of the town of Second Creek. As I read the books, I find myself longing to live in Second Creek with the Nitwits and all of their fun and friendship!!! In the book "The Piggly Wiggly Wedding" Dalby introduces several new characters who have some interesting characteristics. Euterpe Simon who has musical talent and loves to share her talent with others. Buddha Magruder makes you want to dance with him or even by yourself. The mystery of the fireflies I loved. Growing up my brother and I would catch fireflies and keep them in jars with holes in the top so they could breath and I still do that with my grandchildren today!!!! If you are looking for pure entertainment and you have a love of the south, I recommend these Piggly Wiggly books highly. I so pray Dalby has another book in the making!!! I may have to go back and read them all again!!!! Dalby's writing is excellent and I adore his humor!!!!

Somewhere in Mississippi is Robert Dalby's quirky little town of Second Creek. It's a treat to be invited back for the third book in the series, A Piggly Wiggly Wedding. In Waltzing at the Piggly Wiggly, we met Hale "Mr. Choppy" Dunbar, owner of the Piggly Wiggly grocery store, on the verge of closing due to the new big box store in town. It took an innovative scheme by a group of wealthy widows, the Nitwits, to raise the town's awareness of this possible loss to the community. Kissing Babies at the Piggly Wiggly brought out secrets in Mr. Choppy's background, and a political campaign, run by the Nitwits. Now, it's up to that special group of women to smooth the way for Mr. Choppy to marry the woman he loves when her grown children object to the marriage between their wealthy mother and a small town southern grocer. In the course of this charming series, the Nitwits have gracefully coped with issues such as Alzheimers and learning to understand gay children. Now, they deal with adult children afraid of their mother's remarriage. But, these books are also lighthearted, with eccentric characters in a town known for its eccentric weather. The weather is so hot that fireflies have totally disappeared from Second Creek, and Mr. Choppy and others have noticed their absence. Despite the lack of fireflies, two new people blow into town, and light it up. Euterpe Simon, "Mistress of the Scales", hopes to rent a place to teach piano lessons. The mysterious woman captures the interest of all of the Nitwits, who vie to be Euterpe's best students. And, then there's Great Buddha Magruder, a giant of a man famous for his dancing. He's a "big" hit with the women. If you like the books by Ann B. Ross, Joan Medlicott, and Louise Shaffer, authors who have blurbed Dalby's books, you'll appreciate the southern humor and small town life in these stories. The Piggly Wiggly stories are delightful, with eccentric, lively characters. There's a sense of comfort and contentment when reading the Piggly Wiggly books, and A Piggly Wiggly Wedding is no exception. It's another charming book, filled with friendship, laughter and a little of that Second Creek magic. Oh, and may you always have fireflies.

In Second Creek, Mississippi, septuagenarian town mayor Hale "Mr. Choppy" Dunbar is marrying his sweetheart Gaylie Lyons of Lake Forest, Illinois whom he met and lost his heart to back in the 1940s and has not seen her since until recently. Her two adult children Petey and Amanda oppose their mom remarrying and relocating. Gaylie and Hale decide to invite both of them to spend time in his town so he can gain their support. The local Nitwitts prepare for war because they want their mayor happy with the love of his life. This army of southern matrons and belles are planning to charm the northerners with sweet tea, but if that fails they will give the intruders a taste of steel magnolia justice as only a Mississippi Delta iron maiden can. The third Piggly Wiggly Mississippi delta tale WALTZING AT THE PIGGLY WIGGLY and KISSING BABIES AT THE PIGGLY WIGGLY is a terrific second chance at love for senior citizens. The story line oozes Southern charm using humor to bring to life the local eccentric Nitwitts who know the world is changing faster than the speed of the internet as affirmed that the title supermarket in their town has been closed for several years. Fans of regional sagas will enjoy the capers of the Iron maidens as they prepare to either charm or rout their guests (or intruders as the case may prove) in the second war of northern aggression. Harriet Klausner