Book Review for David Wiesner's The Three Pigs

Book Review by Allie Davis
MLIS 5603 Literature for Children and Young Adults

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Wiesner, David. 2001. The Three Pigs. New York, Clarion Books. ISBN 0618007016

PLOT SUMMARY
     This version of The Three Little Pigs begins like any other, with the pigs going out into the world to establish themselves.  The first pig goes out and builds a straw house which is then blown over by the wolf who eats the pig.  A second pig builds a stick house which is also blown down by the wolf and then eaten. As the story progresses, the reader learns that the pigs do not actually die, but are "blown" off the pages and become part of a frame story .  Meanwhile, the 3rd pig builds his brick house and is safe from the wolf.  All 3 pigs are now in the framework of the 2nd story, adventuring through a make-believe world of other fairy tales by flying on a paper airplane.  They meet the cow who jumped over the moon, the Dish and the Spoon, dragons, kings, and princes on their journey.  After adventures with many characters, they decide to go back home via the crumpled paper airplane, taking some of the fairy tale characters with them.  They enter back as the wolf is blowing on the brick house.  He is met with the dragon, who saves the day, and they all live happily ever after.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS
     Through the repetitious narration of the well-known wolf and pigs' dialogue each other well-known nursery rhymes such as, "Hey, Diddle Diddle, The Cat and the Fiddle.  The Cow jumped over the moon," the wonder of childhood storytelling is evident in the traditional start of this "Once upon a time" story which also incorporates the normal "happily ever after" ending for the protagonists. However, this version takes an unexpected plot twist when the 3 pigs enter another world.  While it starts and ends in the traditional sense, the rest of the book takes a radically different approach, moving into a modern, fresh version. An implied archetypal theme emerges in the form of good vs. evil between the pigs and the wolf. There are the easily recognizable wordings of the original tale such as, "I'll huff and "I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in," and "Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin," and closes with good triumphing over evil, even though it is not the normal three pigs ending.  The wolf is met with the dragon, who saves, the day, and they all live happily ever after.   
     The illustrations are done in framework style like large comic strips on most pages.  Through the work, the colors are muted, darker colors, reminiscent of a by-gone, faded age.  As the story unfolds, the frames begin changing, and images are found outside the borders, until finally the border frames disappear and full page illustrations appear in the fairy tale world.  Frames appear again when the pigs enter back into their own world.
     

AWARDS

• Publisher's Weekly Best Children's Book -- nominated for 2001
• Caldecott Medal -- 2002
• School Library Journal Best Books of the Year -- 2001
• American Library Association Notable Books for Children -- 2002
• Original Voices Award -- Nominated for 2002
• Bluegrass Award -- nominated for 2003
• ABC Children's Booksellers Choice Awards -- 2002

REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

·       Horn Book Magazine, "...David Weisner's postmodern interpretation of this tale plays imaginatively with traditional picture book and story conventions and with readers' expectations of both..." © Copyright May 1, 2001.
·       Publisher’s Weekly "..."Weisner's brilliant use of white space and perspective evokes a feeling that the characters can navigate endless possibilities and that the range of story itself is limitless..." © Copyright February 26, 2001.

·       School Library Journal, "...They wonder through other stories--their bodies changing to take on the new style of illustration..." © Copyright April 1, 2001.
·       Chicago Tribune, July 15, 2001.
·       San Francisco Chronicle, June 17, 2001.


CONNECTIONS
Gather other Three Little Pig books to read such as:
·       The Three Little Pigs by Jill McDonald, ISBN 0316154032
·       The Three Little Pigs by Margaret Hillert, ISBN 1599537893
·       The Three Little Pigs by Suzanne Harper, ISBN 00316154132

Use as an introduction to pigs, traditional tales, fairy tales, animals, and tricksters.

• Compare and contrast to other 3 Little Pig story versions.
• Use Venn Diagrams.
• Use this version to teach the plot line on an elementary or middle school level.