"The Three Pigs" Book Review

1.      Bibliography

Wiesner, David. 2001. THE THREE PIGS. New York, NY: Clarion Books. ISBN 0618007016

2.      Plot Summary

David Wiesner begins the traditional tale of “The Three Pigs” with the predictable introduction of “One upon a time there were three pigs…” and quickly turns the storyline to a fractured fairy tale by having the first pig blown out of the original story by the wolf.  The first pig, who we all to know built his house out of straw, does not in fact get eaten because he is now out of the story.  As the wolf moves on to the second pig who built his house out of sticks, the first pig is able to run outside the story and warn his brother to join him.  The two pigs get their third brother all while the wolf is following the traditional story line of locating the pigs houses and blowing them down.  The three pigs decide to go for an adventure while outside their original story by folding up their story pages, flying on paper airplanes, and running into other traditional tales.  The pigs decide to return to their original story where they pick up where they left off with the wolf climbing down the brick house chimney.  Luckily for the pigs, they picked up another character from one of the tales they fell in, a fire breathing dragon that scares the wolf away for good.  Even defenseless characters such as pigs, can decide their own fate.   

3.      Critical Analysis

David Wiesner begins this fractured fairy tale with the original basic storyline of the “The Three Little Pigs” as we all know it.  Just when you are bored with the predictability of the tale, Wiesner pulls the pigs “out of the story”.  The three pigs are now in charge of the storyline’s fate.  Wiesner now has the reader on their toes with a plot that keeps them guessing.  The story goes on with a mix of the traditional tale happening on the page and the now “new” tale occurring at the same time.  The reader is able to watch the pigs’ decide a new fate for their story as it is happening.  Wiesner incorporates other tales in his story as the pigs fly and land in timeless children tales.  In order for children to understand and appreciate the humor David shares in this book, they would need a solid background of traditional tales.  As an adult, I did not know the fairy tale the pigs picked up their dragon in, but I was able to understand it was obviously from a traditional tale because of the other settings the pigs stopped in. 

Wiesner’s illustrations add to the brilliant magic of this tale.  Wiesner begins the story with a cartoonish style, then makes the pigs more realistic as they leave their story.  This technique helps the reader distinguish between the old and the new tale.  The pigs then use dialogue bubbles to communicate so the reader understands this is happening “behind the scenes.”  Wiesner has several pages of the pigs flying through open blank space on the pages to add to the drama of them leaving their story.  Each traditional tale the pigs land in has a unique artistic style that separates each tale from the next.  This helps the reader understand the difference in tales as they all come together in this fractured fairy tale.  

4.      Review Excerpt(s)

Caldecott Medal – 2002

Chair of 2002 Caldecott Medal Award Selection Committee Member – “…Witty dialogue and physical humor make this a selection that will have youngsters squealing with delight.”

5.      Connections

*Read other selections of “The Three Pigs” and have students compare each selection.

*Discuss how Wiesner pulled the characters out of the story and changed it.  Students will use a traditional story they are familiar with and pull the main characters out to change it as well.

*Read other fractured fairy tale selections and discuss how the authors of these selections changed the original tale.