The Three Pigs

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wiesner, D. (2001). The Three Pigs. (Caldecott Honor Book). ISBN-10: 0618007016

Clarion Books.

PLOT SUMMARY

David Wiesner shakes up the traditional 1904 tale of The Three Pigs with shocking and surprising twists and unexpected events different from Frederick Warne & Co. The story starts with the typical “Once upon a time” as they introduce the first little pig. The first and second pig’s houses, the popular straw house and stick house, are blown away by the mean wolf. But just as they are about to introduce the third pig and his brick home, there is a shift in the story and the illustrations. The pigs have been “blown out” of the story and the pages of the book seem to detach. The pigs are trying to find their way back to the story, but in doing so, they come across other fairytale stories and characters. As a result, they befriend a cat and a dragon. After several distractions and complications, they end up finding their way back to home and bring their new friends along. Consequently, the wolf tries to blow the last house down but fails miserably and is scared off forever. At last, the new friends have soup in their cozy brick home “and they all lived happily ever after”.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

David Wiesner’s (2002 Caldecott Medal Winner) creation in The Three Pigs is a new adventure for children to get lost in. Wiesner intended to orchestrate his own story instead of adapting to the traditional fairytale. The characters remain the same, but the plot is twisted. Wiesner allows the characters to have freedom and explore through the pages of the book. The pigs have the opportunity to sort through the pages of the book to find an escape. The characters have their own speech bubbles through-out which gives them their own unique personalities. As the pages get scrambled due to their clumsiness, they try to arrange the story but end up in other fairytales where they meet new friends that tag along. The ending is a sweet one in which unlikely characters have soup together in their brick home after the wolf becomes intimidated by the dragon.

Even though this is a fun retelling of The Three Pigs, I do find that it is difficult to follow along through the story. It is confusing to see the illustrations and the text not correlating to each other. Although it is intentional for the characters to get lost, I feel like children will also get lost unless they have a high academic understanding of plot and inferring skills.

REVIEW EXCERPTS

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY (2001): “As readers have come to expect from the inventive works of Wiesner, nothing is ever quite as it seems in his picture books. This version of the pigs' tale starts off traditionally enough—warm, inviting watercolor panels show in succession the tiny houses, their owner-builders and their toothy visitor. But when the wolf begins to huff and puff, he blows the pigs right out of the illustrations.”

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (2016): “With The Three Pigs, Wiesner explodes the form, deconstructing a famous fable and showing readers that anything can happen within a picture book.”

CONNECTIONS

Library Activity: Students will choose their favorite traditional folktale book and create their own speech bubbles for their favorite characters. They are allowed to use their imagination and creativity to allow the characters freedom to think and say what they feel.

Home Activity: Allow children to retell and give their favorite folktales different endings.