Today, communities throughout the United States will celebrate National Pig Day, an observance begun in 1972 in order "to accord the pig its rightful, though generally unrecognized, place as one of man's most intellectual and domesticated animals." The day is most often observed in the Midwest, and it remains an open question whether we are meant to celebrate the pig for its companionship, or for its tastiness. Here at ON THIS DAY, we offer some of both.

	E.B. White's classic novel Charlotte's Web celebrates the friendship between a pig named Wilbur and a spider named Charlotte. It's been adapted for film (twice) and stage, and as a video game. Michael Sims explores how the book came to be in The Story of Charlotte's Web, available as an e-book at OverDrive or in print. Charlotte's Web is available as an e-audio from OverDrive, in print, or as an audiobook; the 2007 live-action movie is available on DVD.
	In Lesser Beasts, Mark Essig traces the history of the pig and its relationship with humanity from our earliest encounters, 10,000 years ago, to the present era of factory farming. He explores our contradictory attitudes with the pig, which we have made a staple of our diet while freqently thinking of the animal as unclean. Lesser Beasts is available as an e-book from OverDrive, and in print.
	For the ambitious chef, Jane Grigson's Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery is the classic guide to preparing your own pork delicacies -- sausages, terrines, and pates -- and how best to prepare all the different cuts of pork. Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery  is available as an e-book from OverDrive.