Tuesday, September 25, 2012

The Three Pigs by David Wiesner


Book Review- The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

a.      Bibliography
Wiesner, David. 2001. The Three Pigs. New York, New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0618007016
b.      Plot Summary
Everyone knows the classic tale of the three pigs. The story begins familiarly enough, with the pigs building their homes with the usual materials. Things start to change when the first pig gets blown right out of the story after the wolf’s huffing and puffing, “Hey! He blew me out of the story!” The pig rescues his brothers before the wolf can eat them, and they begin an adventure into the realm of classic tales. Along their trip, the pigs meet the cat and the fiddle and a dragon. These new friends accompany them back to their own story, where the wolf is still trying to huff and puff his way into the brick house. Unfortunately for the wolf, the dragon startles him away, and the pigs and their new friends settle into soup for dinner, “Come inside, everyone. Soup’s on!”
c.       Critical Analysis
In this adaptation of the classic story, Wiesner begins with the plot simple enough, but it quickly changes into something brand new to fans of The Three Pigs. The integrity of early retellings is altered, but the reader can appreciate the exploration of the story. The freshness of the story continues with the illustrations. Wiesner brings interesting dialogue bubbles, text excerpts, and cascading words down the pages of his retelling.
d.      Review Excerpts
 
·         Caldecott Medal Winner in 2002
 
·         Starred review on Amazon.com “…crafty humor and skewed perspectives..”
·         Starred review on Publisher’s Weekly “…brilliant use of white space and perspective…”

e.      Connections
 
·         This story would be a great way to teach comparison/contrasting different versions of the Three Pigs.
o   How did the pigs differ?
o   Did the wolf eat the pigs? Escape?
o   How did the reteller portray the houses?
·         Other versions of The Three Pigs:
o   The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
o   The Three Little Pigs by Marie-Louise Gay

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