Book Review – The Three Pigs
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Wiesner, David. 2001. THE THREE PIGS. New York: Clarion Books.
ISBN 9780618007011
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Blown right into a world of fantasy, the three pigs escaped demise as the wolf “huffed” and “puffed” their house down. As in other versions of this tale, three pigs set out to make a new life for themselves. Each built their home of different materials: straw, sticks, and bricks. Instead of being consumed by the wicked wolf, the pigs crossed over to an imaginary land where they encounter the famous nursery rhyme character “cat and the fiddle” and a medieval dragon. While looking back into their homeland from the fictitious world they entered, the pigs noticed the fine craftsmanship of the third pig’s dwelling (made of bricks). This observation, along with the desire to return, led the pigs and their new found friends back home. In the end, these characters joined forces to form their “happily ever after.”
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
David Wiesner balances the traditional telling of this story with a clever twist. He draws readers in with original details that make it so unforgettable. The predictable language, repetition, and rhyme used by the wolf and pigs are a trademark children love to imitate. These well-known lines include “Little pig, little pig, let me come in…Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin…Then I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in!” Although these words included in many other versions add a hint of humor to the tale alone, the dialogue between the characters (including the use of call out balloons) in Wiesner’s account provide further amusement.
Wiesner’s illustrations also added humor as it ingeniously allowed readers to see the pigs viewing their old life as a storybook. The voyage consisted of the pigs flipping the pages of the book with their bodies, crumbling pages, manipulating the pages into a paper airplane, and straightening the pages to jump back into their world. In some instances, the pages seemed as though they were “windows” into many worlds. Jumbled text at the end of the story clearly left the wolf disheveled, as the reader has to use prior knowledge, context clues, and interpretation to figure out the wolf’s fate.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
2002 Caldecott Medal Winner
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY: “Even the book's younger readers will understand the distinctive visual code.”
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Witty dialogue and physical comedy abound in this inspired retelling of a familiar favorite.”
5. CONNECTIONS
· Other versions of this tale could be studied to compare/contrast outcome and character perspective. Students could explore writing different outcomes to create their own fractured tale.
· Other variants/versions of this book:
Galdone, Paul. 1970. THE THREE LITTLE PIGS: A FOLK TALE CLASSIC. ISBN 9780547370200
Scieszka, Jon. 2009. THE TRUE STORY OF THE 3 LITTLE PIGS. ISBN 9780142414477
Lowell, Susan. 1992. THE THREE LITTLE JAVELINAS. ISBN 0873585429
· Websites with lesson plan ideas:
Other resources used:
This book review was created as an assignment for a course at
Texas Woman’s University.
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