BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Scieszka, Jon. 1989. The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs! Smith, Lane ill. New York.Viking Penguin.
ISBN: 0-670-82759-2
AWARDS:
Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award for Picture Book (1991)
PLOT SUMMARY:
“I was framed,” says the Wolf.
In this delightful and fun variation of the classic The Three Little Pigs, Alexander Wolf (aka Big Bad Wolf) tells his side of the story. It seems that he was baking a birthday cake for his dear old grand-mother and ran out of sugar. Having a cold and being victim to random bouts of sneezing, he proceeded to his neighbors’ houses to try and borrow a cup of sugar. The neighbors just happen to be the little pigs. Through a series of misfortunate events, the first little pig’s house of straw was knocked down when the wolf sneezed due to his cold. The same thing basically happens at the second pig’s house and at the third pig’s house, the wolf gets upset because the pig insulted his granny. The wolf got mad and was trying to break down the door when the cops showed up. Then the newspapers embellished the story and reported the “Huff and puff and blow your house down.”
CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Jon Scieszak has taken the classic story to a new level. Children will love hearing about the misfortunate events and probably will relate to a time when they were misunderstood. Scieszak uses each conflict with the pigs to create a semi-credible spin to the story.
Add to that the illustrations of Lane Smith and the children will love this tale. Smith portrays the wolf with glasses and a tie. The illustration of the wolf in this manner takes away some of the pre-conceived notions children have that the Big Bad Wolf is mean and terrifying. He comes across as a slightly older, mild mannered character. If you do not look closely, some of the details in the illustrations may be missed. For example, the bunny ears sticking out of the cake bowl and the “sneezing remnants” which could be mistaken as cake batter. The pictures of the little pigs’ bottoms sticking up from the rubble of the house are also sure to strike a chord of laughter with the children. Even though the story is humorous, Smith’s use of muted colors and dark shading gives the story an underlying sense of menace. The illustration and text of this story complement each other and make for enjoyable reading.
Add to that the illustrations of Lane Smith and the children will love this tale. Smith portrays the wolf with glasses and a tie. The illustration of the wolf in this manner takes away some of the pre-conceived notions children have that the Big Bad Wolf is mean and terrifying. He comes across as a slightly older, mild mannered character. If you do not look closely, some of the details in the illustrations may be missed. For example, the bunny ears sticking out of the cake bowl and the “sneezing remnants” which could be mistaken as cake batter. The pictures of the little pigs’ bottoms sticking up from the rubble of the house are also sure to strike a chord of laughter with the children. Even though the story is humorous, Smith’s use of muted colors and dark shading gives the story an underlying sense of menace. The illustration and text of this story complement each other and make for enjoyable reading.
REVIEW EXCERPTS:
Booklist:
“Jon Scieszka's The True Story of the Three Little Pigs (1989) turned the favorite porkers' story upside-down by allowing the grossly misjudged wolf to tell his side of the story.”
School Library Journal:
“……the bespectacled wolf moves with a rather sinister bonelessness, and his juicy sneezes tear like thunderbolts through a dim, grainy world.”
CONNECTIONS:
Compare and contrast the original Three Little Pigs story with this one. Other enrichment activities could be to show the pictures to the students and have them to predict what they think will happen. Picking out noun and adjectives would also make a good activity. Read another book by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith:
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales
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