Tales of the Tamworth Two Books in Order

The Tales of the Tamworth Two grow out of a real news story, which already gives them a head start. In 1998 two Tamworth pigs, Butch and Sundance, escaped on the way to slaughter and briefly became national celebrities. That mix of danger, luck, and public fascination is what Brandreth turns into a set of children's books.

The real-life starting point matters, but the series is not grim. Quite the opposite. These books take a headline-making escape and retell it as an animal adventure for younger readers, with the pigs as plucky little heroes suddenly on the move in a world much larger than they expected. The Great Escape gives you the obvious first chapter of the story, and the later titles, Two Little Pigs Make Friends and Wanted, suggest what happens once the runaways become known everywhere.

That is the fun of the setup. Butch and Sundance are not just escaping. They are becoming famous while they do it. Adults chase them, newspapers fuss over them, and the pigs find themselves in the odd position of being both vulnerable and very much in demand. The series can therefore keep the pace of a chase story while softening everything into something younger readers can enjoy.

There is also something naturally appealing about the animals chosen. Tamworth pigs are sturdy, characterful creatures, and the books lean into that. These are not elegant fairy-tale animals. They are earthy, determined, slightly comic fugitives, and that makes them easy to root for. The countryside, roads, fences, farms, and hiding places all matter because the pigs are always trying to stay one step ahead.

The tone is brisk and friendly, with a real story underneath it. That makes the books especially good for children who enjoy knowing that something like this actually happened. Brandreth does not need to invent the basic hook because history has already handed it to him: two pigs made a break for it, and the world paid attention.

If you like read-aloud animal adventures with a true-story spark, this series has a lot going for it. The books keep the momentum of a getaway tale, but they also carry a nice undercurrent of sympathy, relief, and improbable good fortune.