The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

"Hey! He blew me right out of the story!"

Bibliography:
Wiesner, David. 2001. The Three Pigs. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN: 9780547532967

Plot Summary:
The Three Pigs is a modern twist on the traditional fable The Three Little Pigs. In this reinvented story, the fable begins with the classic tale of three pigs venturing out into the world and building their homes of straw, sticks, and brick. As the first pig makes his straw home, a wolf comes knocking on the door begging to be let inside. As expected, the pig denies the wolf claiming, "Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin." The wolf blows the house in, but the pig is nowhere to be found as he has been blown right out of the story. The wolf moves on to the second house made of sticks. However, the next two pigs are rescued by their brother, who escaped, leaving the story altogether and entering into a realm of storybook pages. The pigs explore the area, build a paper plane made from a page of their story, and fly around until the plane crash-lands. Their next adventure takes them to the nursery rhyme Hey, Diddle, Diddle, where the fiddler cat follows the pigs back into the realm of storybook pages. Next, the pigs find a story with a dragon guarding a gold rose, and the pigs rescue him before he is slain by a prince. Together, the storybook characters find The Three Pigs pages and return home. At home, the dragon scares off the wolf and scatters some of the story's words across the page. The new allies catch the falling letters and recreate the story's ending, where they all live happily ever after.

Critical Analysis:
The Three Pigs, adapted and illustrated by David Wiesner, is an award-winning contemporary variation of the classic fable. The story combines playful dialogue and wordless picture formats to create this unique retelling. Wiesner effortlessly recreates the traditional literary story while completely reinventing the fable altogether. The illustrations are expressive and adapt to new perspectives that appropriately match each folktale setting, such as the Hey, Diddle, Diddle nursery rhyme. Wiesner's sketches, subtle coloring, and finely detailed illustrations extend the story and set the pacing and mood.

The author's style successfully maintains the formality of the original story and adds clever literary elements. For instance, readers will be surprised when one of the pigs breaks the fourth wall, meaning that the narrative addresses the real-life audience and no longer stays within any fictional boundaries. All of the characters are simple enough for readers to follow along but essential for developing the plot. The plot presents a new journey for the pigs to explore and help others along their adventure. The pigs recruit the cat and dragon and scare off the old wolf for good, resulting in a satisfying conclusion.

Children of all ages will be happy to see cultural barriers broken down, as the story proves that animals of all kinds can live together peacefully. Readers will also relate to the universal theme of happily ever after and overcoming hardships. Overall, anyone familiar with The Three Little Pigs will love this extraordinary new concept of traditional literature.

Review Excerpts:
Awards & Recognitions:
  • 2002 Caldecott Medal winner 
  • New York Public Library's Children's Books: 100 Titles 
From ALA's Booklist, "Wiesner has created a funny, wildly imaginative tale that encourages readers to leap beyond the familiar; to think critically about conventional stories and illustration, and perhaps, to flex their imaginations and create wonderfully subversive versions of their own stories."

From The Horn Book, "In this postmodern interpretation, the style of the artwork shifts back and forth a few times, as Wiesner explores different realities within a book's pages. The story begins by following the familiar pattern, but the art and dialogue balloons tell another tale: the pigs actually step out of the panel illustrations without being eaten and the perplexed wolf remains behind. There's a lot going on here, but once you get your bearings, this is a fantastic journey told with a light touch."

From The New York Times, "Wiesner's dialogue and illustrations are clever, whimsical, and sophisticated." 

From School Library Journal, "Children will delight in the changing perspectives...and the whole notion of the interrupted narrative...fresh and funny...Witty dialogue and physical comedy abound in this inspired retelling of a familiar favorite."

Connections:
  • Read aloud the traditional fable to children: The Three Little Pigs. Discuss the differences between the classic and the retelling by David Wiesner. Which story do they prefer and why? 
  • Activity: Help patrons or students create a version of the three little pigs through storytelling. Does a different animal try to blow down the house? Encourage them to share their stories with the class or library. 
  • Activity: Create a craft project for patrons or students to recreate the pig houses. Assist in making houses of playdough, coloring pages, popsicle sticks, and more. Add embellishments like buttons or ribbon that they can also tape or glue on. 
  • Read the nursery rhyme Hey, Diddle, Diddle by Mother Goose aloud: Hey, Diddle Diddle. If you have play instruments, have the children create a song variation of the rhyme. 
Read more retellings of The Three Pigs:
  • Kimmel, Eric A. The Three Little Tamales. Illustrated by Valeria Docampo. ISBN: 9780761455196 (also listed in my blog post for Hank and Gertie!)
  • Schwartz, Corey Rosen. The Three Ninja Pigs. Illustrated by Dan Santat. ISBN: 9780399255144
  • Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! Illustrated by Lane Smith. ISBN: 9780140540567
Explore more stories by David Wiesner:
  • Kahng, Kim and Wiesner, David. The Loathsome Dragon. Illustrated by David Wiesner. ISBN: 9780399214073
  • Wiesner, David. Flotsam. ISBN: 9780618194575
  • Wiesner, David. Mr. Wuffles! ISBN: 9780618756612
  • Wiesner, David. Sector 7. ISBN: 9780758701428
  • Wiesner, David. Tuesday. ISBN: 9780395870822
Extra Content: To Kick Those Boredom Blues

The Three Pigs storytime! 

Learn more about breaking the fourth wall with these Top 10 Disney examples: