Book Review: The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

Module 2

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. New York: Viking, 1989. Illustrated by Lane Smith. ISBN 0-670-88844-3

2. PLOT SUMMARY

In this humorous fractured fairy tale, Alexander Wolf (Al) explains how he was framed. It all begins with Al making a birthday cake for his grandma, while suffering a terrible cold. When he runs out of sugar, he decides to visit his neighbors and ask for some. When he visits his first neighbor, little pig #1, he is overcome with a huge sneeze, and blows down the house made of straw. In the middle of the straw was the pig, dead. Al decides not to waste a good ham and eats him. Al then travels to the second house, little pig #2. He is yet again overcome by a huge sneeze and the house of sticks crumbles, leaving behind a dead little pig. Not really hungry but not wanting to waste another good ham, the wolf eats the little pig. Al moves onto his next neighbor, little pig #3. This was obviously the smart pig in the family for he had made his house out of bricks and when Al sneezed his horrible sneeze, the house stood. However, when the little pig insults Al’s grandmother, Al become furious and attempts to break down the door. This is how the authorities find the wolf and refuse to believe his story about the cup of sugar.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Scieszka includes a lot of humor in this retelling of The 3 Little Pigs as he tells the story from the wolf’s point of view. The wolf explains that he is not a Big Bad Wolf, but simply an animal that must eat other animals for survival. As he explains “If cheeseburgers were cute, folks would probably think you were Big and Bad, too!” It is the wolf’s diet, and terrible cold, that lead to the unfortunate demise of the first two little pigs. Readers begin to question whether the wolf truly was Big and Bad, or simply misunderstood.

Smith’s illustrations add a lot of humor and playfulness to the story. The rabbit in the cake batter for Al’s grandmother reminds the reader that he is a wolf and eats meat. Al’s calm walk down the lane while whistling shows the gentle side of him and his unintentional destructive behavior. The illustrations also reveal that story takes place in a different time period than other versions as evidenced by the appearance of microphones, newspapers, and a cheeseburger.

4. AWARDS AND REVIEW EXCERPTS

*School Library Journal: “The book that opened the door to the wonderful world of fractured fairy tales. Pitch perfect from beginning to end”.

*Horn Book Reviews: “These startling revelations are accompanied by colorfully impressionistic illustrations, integrating elegance of execution with comic timing.”

5. CONNECTIONS

*Related books that tell the “true story” of characters:

Baruzzi, Agnese. THE TRUE STORY OF GOLDILOCKS. ISBN 978-0763644758

Forward, Toby. THE WOLF’S STORY: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED TO LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD. ISBN 978-0763627850

*Have students pick their favorite traditional tale. Have them rewrite the story from the antagonist’s point of view.

*Compare and contrast Scieszka’s version of the 3 Little Pigs with another. How are they similar and different? Discuss how the point of view can change the reader’s perception of the story.