THE THREE PIGS

1. Bibliography

Wiesner, David. 2001. The Three Pigs. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0618007016

2. Plot Summary

            Three pigs, 3 homes, and a wolf normally make for a predictable tale. These pigs, however, have another idea in mind and head out of the story for a different adventure. David Wiesner uses comic book artwork to reinvent this classic fairy tale.   

3. Critical Analysis

            David Wiesner takes the traditional fable of The Three Little Pigs and transforms it into a fractured fairy tale where the pigs get a say in what happens to them. This fractured tale does not hold to the same traditional characters of good and evil, and this is mainly displayed when the pigs encourage another fairytale character to join them in the ‘white space’ of the stories. The predictable story, setting, theme, and style have changed widely from the original tale, and opt instead for a surprising change of events on every page. The comic style leads the story out of the traditional setting into the blank borders where anything can happen.

4. Reviews

Winner of the Caldecott Award

NewYork Times Book Review; “Wiesner's dialogue and illustrations are clever, whimsical and sophisticated.”

From 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. Wiesner's luxurious use of white space with the textured pigs zooming in and out of view is fresh and funny. They wander through other stories-their bodies changing to take on the new style of illustration as they enter the pages-emerging with a dragon and the cat with a fiddle. The cat draws their attention to a panel with a brick house, and they all sit down to soup, while one of the pigs reconstructs the text. Witty dialogue and physical comedy abound in this inspired retelling of a familiar favorite.”

5. Connections

* Read a traditional tale about the three little pigs and other variations. What do they all have in common and what is different? Does the moral of the story change with the different tales?

* What other stories might Wiesner have used to add a comedy to the story?  

* Other take-offs:

            Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Ill. by Lane Smith. ISBN 0140544518

            Trivizas, Eugene. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. Ill. by Helen Oxenbury. ISBN 068981528X

            Marshall, James. The Three Little Pigs. ISBN 0448422883