Traditional Literature Review: The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

Module 2

Book 1:

Traditional Literature Review: The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

Bibliography 

Wiesner, David. The Three Pigs. New York, New York. Clarion Books a Houghton Mifflin Company. 2001. ISBN 0-618-00701-6

Plot Summary

The Three Pigs is a unique and imaginative retelling of the classic fairy tale “The Three Little Pigs." In this version, three pigs build their houses out of different materials just like in the original story: one built with straw, one with sticks, and one with bricks. However, the narrative takes a turn when a wolf blows down the houses, and the pigs are thrown out of their storybook world and into other different fairy tales. As the pigs continue through their journey through different stories, they run into other characters and elements from other classic tales, such as Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk. Throughout their adventures, the pigs eventually learn to take control of their own destiny, using elements from the different stories to build a new world where they can live happily ever after.

Critical Analysis

The Three Pigs is a unique and imaginative retelling of a classic tale. This plot takes a turn from its usual scenario and encourages readers to think beyond the traditional storylines and allows them to make predictions of what the three little pigs will get into next. As they journey through other fairy tales and nursery rhymes, I observed the interaction with characters like the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumping over the moon. The illustrations use lighter coloring and allow the reader to focus on the words, while still enjoying the illustrations that guide the reader through the different scenes. 

Review Excerpts

Kirkus Reviews: The three pigs (illustrated in their new world in a more three-dimensional style and with speech balloons) take off on a postmodern adventure via a paper airplane folded from the discarded pages of the traditional tale. They sail through several spreads of white space and crash-land in a surreal world of picture-book pages, where they befriend the cat from “Hey, Diddle Diddle” and a charming dragon that needs to escape with his cherished golden rose from a pursuing prince. The pigs, cat, and dragon pick up the pages of the original story and return to that flat, conventional world, concluding with a satisfying bowl of dragon-breath-broiled soup in their safe, sturdy brick house. The pigs have braved the new world and returned with their treasure: the cat for company and fiddle music, the dragon’s golden rose for beauty, and the dragon himself for warmth and protection from the wolf, who is glimpsed through the window, sitting powerlessly in the distance.

Connections

Additional versions of The Three Pigs:

Scieszka, Jon. 1989. THE TRUE STORY OF THE 3 LITTLE PIGS (L. Smith, Illus.). Penguin. ISBN 978-0140544510

Seibert, Patricia. 2002. THE THREE LITTLE PIGS (H. Elena, Illus.). School Specialty Pub. ISBN 978-0769652689

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