The Three Pigs

Bibliography

Wiesner, David. 2001. The Three Pigs. Ill. By David Wiesner. New York, NY: Clarion Books. ISBN 0-618-00701-6

Plot Summary

Wiesner’s version of The Three Pigs begins in the traditional way, but once the wolf huffs and puffs and blows the straw house down, he also blows the pig out of the story. The little pig goes to each of his brother’s houses and invites them out of the story with him. The three pigs go an adventure aboard a paper airplane made from the pages of their story. Along the way they encounter other characters in other stories, such as the cat and the fiddle. The rescue a dragon from being slain by a knight, and he continues on their adventure with them. The pigs eventually decide to return home, but not before devising a plan. The book returns to the traditional story world, picking up with the wolf knocking on the door of the brick house. However, instead of finding a defenseless little pig, he is surprised by a big dragon. The story ends with the pigs making soup with their new friends. And of course, they all lived happily ever after.    

Critical Analysis

This version of The Three Little Pigs has the traditional characters, but adds a few others from other stories. The story is told from the point of view of the pigs as they escape their book and travel to the pages of other tales.

At the beginning, the illustrations are full page and cartoonish. When the pigs are blown off the pages of the story, they take on a more realistic, three dimensional appearance. The traditional text at the top of the page is replaced by speech bubbles. When the pigs venture out, the illustrator uses blank space to focus the reader on the pigs and their interactions. This change in illustration and text also helps distinguish between the traditional tale and the modern twist. I enjoyed that the author didn’t follow the rules of a traditional children’s book.

The words on the pages don’t always match what is happening in the story. When the wolf blows the house down, the text says that he ate the pig up, but the pig isn’t even on the page anymore. By the end of the story, the pigs have had enough and start taking the words off the page. They use those letters to rewrite the book to say that they lived happily ever after.

I believe that children will enjoy the adventures that ensue when the pigs take matters into their own hands. It allows them to see how imagination can change things. They can realize that they too can become the authors of their own story, just like the little pigs.

Awards

2002 Caldecott Medal

Review Excerpts

School Library Journal: “Witty dialogue and physical comedy abound in this inspired retelling of a familiar favorite.”

Booklist starred review: “Wiesner's latest is a post-modern fantasy for young readers that takes Scieszka's fragmentation a step further: it not only breaks apart and deliciously reinvents the pigs' tale, it invites readers to step beyond the boundaries of story and picture book altogether.”

Connections

*This book could be used to encourage conversations about moral topics such as stealing, lying, and revenge.

*Write about a time in your life when you did something wrong and had to suffer the consequences of your actions.

*Other children’s picture books with a similar theme:

·         Klassen, Jon. I Want My Hat Back. ISBN 0763655988