The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! As told to Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by Lane Smith (Age 4+)

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! As told to Jon Scieszka, Illustrated by Lane Smith (Age 4+)

Scieszka, Jon. (1989). The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! New York: Scholastic.

Genre: Folktale Fiction

“Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think they do. But I’ll let you in on a little secret. The real story is…I was framed!” This is a book about the Three Little Pigs from the Wolves point of view. This is the traditional folktale turned upside down! The Story of the Pigs is re-written in the wolves’ voice.

Personality development- This book helps children to see the other side of the ‘Big Bad Wolf’. Children at this age are ready to talk about their emotions and how they feel, this book you can see the wolf trying to explain how he feels and that he wants understanding from the others.

Illustrations- The illustrations in the book are phenomenal. The cover is the newspaper with the story of the truth about the three little pigs. Then the rest of the book uses pictures with a bit darker colors and very animated figures. There is a lot of creativity throughout the book, such as giant newspaper letters, oversized wolves and humor.

Characterization- The wolf is the main character in this story and the author does a great job showing the readers what kind of a person he is. He is a kind person deep down, it just that unfortunate things happen to him that make him out as the bad guy.  

Folktale- This book is modeled after the Three Little Pigs but the opposite story. There is still a supernatural and personified character, the wolf. There is a moral or message to the story as well as character development to a certain degree.

Mini Lesson- This would be a good compare contrast between the original Three Little Pigs and the wolves’ side.

Enjoyment- Children of all ages will enjoy this story, especially if they are familiar with the origianal.