The Three Pigs

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Wiesner, David. 2001. THE THREE PIGS. Ill. by David Wiesner. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0-618-00701-6

2.      PLOT SUMMARY

Wiesner’s THE THREE PIGS provides a unique twist to the traditional story it retells.

3.      CRITCAL ANALYSIS

Wiesner’s THE THREE PIGS is simply wonderful! I enjoyed every page of this humorous retelling of the classic tale. The wolf is still present, and he’s still huffing and puffing and blowing houses down…but readers will notice that contrary to the written words, these little piggies don’t get eaten—they get blown right out of the story, much to the wolf’s confusion! After taking several detours through other classic tales, they invite their newfound friends to “come home” with them to the brick house in their story. Once there, the wolf, readying his attempt to blow down the brick home, gets a big surprise!

Every page of this adorable story was enjoyable—you just never knew what would come next. Wiesner’s artwork does his book justice by using watercolor, gouache, colored inks, pencil and colored pencil to create characters with different textures and coloring. The facial expressions he applies to the pigs are priceless. A highly recommended read!

4.      REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Winner of the 2002 Caldecott Medal

Review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: “Children will delight in the changing perspectives, the effect of the wolf's folded-paper body, and the whole notion of the interrupted narrative.”

Starred review in BOOKLIST: “Wiesner has created a funny, wildly imagined tale that encourages kids to leap beyond the familiar, to think critically about conventional stories and illustration, and perhaps to flex their imaginations and create wonderfully subversive versions of their own stories.”

5.      CONNECTIONS

* Book discussion: what parts of the books do the children like best? Which do they prefer—the classic tale, or Wiesner’s take?

* Other Caldecott-winning books by this author:

            Wiesner, David. FLOTSAM. ISBN 0618194576 (2007 Winner)

            Wiesner, David. TUESDAY. ISBN 0395870828 (1992 Winner)

*Other Caldecott honor-winning books by this author:

            Wiesner, David. SECTOR 7. ISBN 0395746566

            Wiesner, David. FREE FALL. ISBN 068810990X