The True Story Of The 3 Little Pigs (1996) - Plot & Excerpts
A traditional tale is told from a new point of view in a fun book for elementary readers, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Jon Scieszka’s version of this well-known folktale gives the wolf a chance to tell his side of the story that left him with the reputation of ‘Big and Bad.’ Illustrations by the unique artist Lane Smith magnify the already wonderful text in this book.From his jail cell, after being convicted of eating pigs and destruction of property, Alexander T. Wolf explains a version of The Three Little Pigs unlike any other. While going door-to-door to borrow a cup of sugar for his “dear old granny’s birthday cake” the wolf accidentally destroys a house a house of straw when he sneezes and eats the dead pig left in the rubble (Scieszka 1989, 5). Next, another sneeze ruins a straw house and provides the wolf another meal. At the house of bricks the third pig provokes the wolf to attack by insulting his granny, causing him to huff and puff until the police arrest him. Scieszka ends the story by stating that a slow news day caused for exaggeration in the wolf’s story and led to his jail sentence.A new traditional story, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs is well-written using point-of-view, humor, and simple language to engage readers. The author of other similarly written stories, Scieszka’s style of writing is entertaining, thought-provoking, and has a richness to it through his cleaver use of words. Great lines from the book include “It seemed like a shame to leave a perfectly good ham dinner lying there in the straw. So I ate it up. Think of it as a big cheeseburger laying there” on page 13 and “So they jazzed up the story with the whole ‘Huff and puff and blow your house down” on page 25 (Scieszka 1989).High quality illustrations by Lane Smith are one of the best parts of this book. Rich colors and depth added by shading results in intriguing artwork for each page of this book. Details in the illustrations extend upon the text, such as rabbit ears poking from under the wolf’s hamburger bun and a headline about Red Riding Hood on the front page of ‘The Daily Pig’ newspaper. Smith’s illustrations are not only interesting to look at, they tell a story on their own and are instrumental in making this book the popular, well respected work it is today.Scieszka and Smith created a book that will forever accompany the classic story of three pigs with The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Engaging text and excellent illustrations make this an essential addition to any library, a book reluctant readers will enjoy, and a great choice for read-aloud activities.
A classic tale that’s been reinvented to show that there really are two sides to every story. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs sees the reader being educated on what really happened on that fateful day when The Big Bad Wolf came huffing and puffing.This book is a great read, totally transforming the wolf as we know him into an educated, polite and quite frankly, misunderstood character who has been left at the mercy of pigs that are out to frame him. For we are presented not with a wolf that goes around vandalising little pig’s properties, but one who is suffering from an unfortunate cold that triggers a series of innocent, be it ill-timed, sneezes.The illustrations in this book are beautifully done with some excellent fine detail and muted tones that give it the traditional fairy tale quality it is successfully replicating. There is also use of some imaginative typography that add even more creative depth to this already finely textured book.This book is something that children from ages 5-9 would enjoy and it potentially offers a lot of scope in the classroom. It would be a good tool when trying to demonstrate persuasive writing to children and also would create many other opportunities for other stories to be rejigged in favour of the villain, which could provide entertaining alternatives to the accounts we are lead to believe. It could also lead to an interesting debate as to whether the children believe the wolf or not and could be used to manifest a mock court perhaps in order to find whether or not the wolf is guilty or not guilty.
What do You think about The True Story Of The 3 Little Pigs (1996)?
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs is based off the original fairytale. Except in this book, the story is told from the wolf’s point of view. He explains how he was only visiting the pigs’ house to borrow some sugar, and he just so happened to sneeze while visiting. He accidently knocked the houses down. Long story short, the wolf tells the story of how he was framed and the whole thing was just a big misunderstanding. I like this book because it gives you a comical way to think about the original fairy tale. It takes a classic story and enhances it to make you think in different ways. It also can teach children how there are always different sides to stories, and how people may not always agree on everything. I think this book should be for 4th through 8th grade. Even though it is a picture book, it is still a cool story for older kids to think about.
—Katelyn Lopez
The Spanish Outreach Club at Humboldt State University recommended we bring books to a 4th grade Spanish class. As college volunteers, we read picture books to the students. I had read this book before in English but reading a translation is a completely different experience. I didn't realize how much fun I would have until I was in the classroom with the students sitting around me. As I read the book, I would pause so the students could take a moment to understand what I was reading. The teacher also asked the students questions about words which coincided with their vocabulary lists. The book is a great teaching material because of its humor and the fact that it offers students a retelling of a common tale, "The Three Little Pigs." This version presents the Wolf's perspective, which shows children how stories change when told by different narrators. If you read this book, you will find yourself bowling over with laughter at various points. I recommend reading both the English and Spanish in order to have a good comparison of how translations can change a story.
—Adrianna
Has this been out long enough to be considered a classic? I remember reading this as a babysitter and being stunned by the drawings and creative twist on The Three Little Pigs now my child is obsessed with this and wants to become a Big Bad Wolf. What's not to love of course the Wolf did nothing wrong, he was framed! Always a delight to have the kids 'achoo' and blow each house down. We should really just buy this book, as it is embarrassing how many times we have loaned it from the library. Favorite quote from my 2 year old child: "I'm the Big Bad Wolf and this is my Big Bad Brother. We need yogurt or we'll blow your house down."
—Bethany Zimp
