Traditional Literature: Three Pigs

Book Review For:

THE THREE PIGS. Retold by David Wiesner. New York: Clarion Books, 2001. ISBN 9780618007011

            This retold fairy tale’s title is one word different from the regular tale THE THREE LITTLE PIGS. Yes, the word “little” is left out on purpose, thus implying that the pigs have more power in manipulating their own situation than before.

            This story starts out in the traditional manner of “Once upon a time…”, along with classic watercolor illustrations of the first pig in his straw house and the big, bad wolf. However, the pig is blown right off of “the page”, which is a smaller rectangle on the real page. As the first pig’s body goes beyond the rectangle “page”, his image becomes more pronounced and realistic. Every little hair on his body can been seen, leaving the flat-looking wolf behind on the “page”, searching for the missing pig. This sequence is repeated with the second pig. The two pigs join together off of the “pages” and join the third, smart pig who has a different coloring of black and white. He also moves beyond the rectangle “page” and becomes more 3-D-like.

            The three pigs scatter the “pages” and take off on an adventure of their own choosing. They travel through the pages of a couple different stories and pick up a cat and a dragon along the way. I had to laugh when the third pig explained to his new friends that they were looking at a picture of his house, boasting “…Notice the brickwork. I did it myself.” Eventually, with everyone’s help, the pigs rearrange the pages and even the words to, of course, outwit the wolf.

            After finishing the story, the reader can return to inspect the cover illustration that contains a close-up of the three pigs and nothing else. The smart pig is strategically placed in the middle, and the reader then realizes how these humble pigs took control of their situation and made it into something desirable and beneficial to them. It’s no wonder that David Wiesner won the 2002 Caldecott Medal for THE THREE PIGS. With amusing, unexpected turns and a happy ending, this cleverly illustrated story carries a powerful message.The SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL similarly stated, “Witty dialogue and physical comedy abound in this inspired retelling of a familiar favorite” (Bird 2012).

            After reading the story to children, I would ask them to share or write about an uncomfortable/undesirable situation that they were in and how they could have changed things to make it better for themselves and everyone else that was involved

 

References

Bird, Elizabeth. "Top 100 Picture Books #68: The Three Pigs by David Wiesner." SLJ.com. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, last modified May 23, 2012, accessed September 24, 2013, http://blogs.slj.com/afuse8production/2012/05/23/top-100-picture-books-68-the-three-pigs-by-david-wiesner/#_.