Review #5: The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

Bibliography

Scieszka, Jon.  1989.  THE TRUE STORY OF THE 3 LITTLE PIGS BY A. WOLF.  Ill. by Lane Smith.  New York:  Viking Penguin.  ISBN 0670827592

Plot Summary

Alexander T. Wolf tells how an errand to borrow sugar from the neighboring pigs led to his accidentally destroying the houses of straw and sticks by sneezing at them.  In the process he accidentally (so he claims, at least) kills their porcine occupants and eats them so as not to let good wolf food go to waste.  He then has an altercation with the rude occupant of the house of bricks that leads to his being arrested and jailed by pig police and turned into a villain by sensationalistic news reporters.

Analysis

This is a witty variant on a traditional tale that many children even today have probably heard.  Certain familiar phrases from the traditional versions (“He huffed and he puffed”; “Chinny chin chin”) are recast in the wolf’s version of the story.  Unlike some bowdlerized versions, this one depicts the unfortunate pigs in the flimsy houses falling victim to the wolf—but then, as the wolf points out, animals such as pigs are the wolf’s equivalent of cheeseburgers.

Lane Smith’s painted art depicts what is happening clearly enough.  It is full of clever details, some (notably a capital letter made up of sausage links) a bit grotesque.  The art’s muddy colors and prickly, edgy character may strike some readers as rather unattractive.  

Overall this is a clever retelling.  Depending on how one chooses to view it, it may be seen either as a lesson in the difference one’s perspective makes or an example of a tale told by a narrator of questionable reliability.

Review Excerpt

“It’s the type of book that older kids (and adults) will find very funny.”  School Library Journal

Connections

Read a more traditional version of “The 3 Little Pigs”, followed by this story.  Talk about how a story can have more than one side to it.

Other versions of the story:

Seibert, Patricia.  THE THREE LITTLE PIGS.  ISBN 1577683676

Wiesner, David.  THE THREE PIGS.  ISBN 0618007016