The Three Pigs

Caldecott Medal Award Winner 2002

Citation:

The Three Pigs by David Wiesner. (Clarion Books, 2001). 38p. Traditional Picture Book.

Summary:

The original tale of the three pigs is told in a new way.  The twist takes the pigs on a new adventure.

Critique:

a.         The detailed illustrations tell the story in a new unexpected way.

b.         The illustrations combined various shades of colors with alternate depictions depending on the background, black frames to confine parts of the story, and almost no illustrations to draw focus to one aspect of the page.  The use of several techniques in the story is what keeps the reader engrossed in the story as it unfolds in a new and surprising way.

c.         There are pages of the traditional three pigs’ story that are folded up within the pages of their new adventure.  As the pigs leave their story and venture into other stories changing into caricatures in Hey Diddle Diddle and losing their color when entering the story of the dragon.  The pigs return to their story with friends they have made from other stories and offer an alternative ending to the time old tale.

Curriculum Connection:  

This version of The Three Pigs would be a good introduction for writing prompts.  It includes non-traditional characters and an alternate ending to a familiar story.  Any teacher who reads this book with her students will have an engaging lesson with a solid foundation on a student’s alternate ending writing.