Peck combines fiction and nonfiction in A Day No Pigs Would Die, a semiautobiography of his childhood days in Vermont. Although Peck presents characters who live in a different era, old and young readers alike will identify with the feelings of Rob, the main character.

Without becoming sentimental, Peck packs the book with emotions, from the excitement of going to the city to the quietness of watching a sunset. At times the reader will smile; at times, laugh out loud; and at times, even cry. And after sharing so many of Rob's emotions, readers end up knowing themselves better.