This version of the classic story “The Three Pigs” is by far my favorite out of all I’ve read. It must have been some other people’s favorite too – it’s a Caldecott winner.
We start out the story in the traditionally accepted way, with the first little pig deciding to build his house out of straw, the wolf looking on ravenously. When the house is completed, the wolf comes and says,
“Little pig, little pig, let me come in.”
To which the pig replies, “Not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin.”
So, of course, the wolf blows. But he doesn’t know his own strength. He blows the pig right out of the picture, into the margin of the book. And when the house comes down, he can’t find the pig anywhere.
So he moves on to the house made of sticks and goes through the whole routine again. He’s just about to blow in the house of sticks when the first little pig sticks his head around the edge of the picture and tells the second pig to come with him. Together they hide behind the picture, and again, the wolf can’t find a pig in the wreckage he’s caused. Poor wolf is starting to have a nervous breakdown.
The two pigs go and get the third pig, and then they start creating some major havoc. They push all the pictures with the wolf to the side, except for one, which they fold into a paper airplane and sail clear across the book. Then they discover there are other stories in the book, and go for a visit. They pop in on “Hey, Diddle Diddle,” and then get chased by a brave knight who is preparing to fight a dragon. They show the dragon how to escape into the margin of the story, and then they’re off again. Finally they decide it’s time to return to their own tale, but they add a twist at the end.
You and your children will love this creative adaptation. The illustrations are fabulous and it’s a welcome departure from the norm.
(This book was published in 2001 by Clarion Books and was illustrated by the author.)
Related Blogs:
Winners of the Caldecott Medal 1998-2002
Writing about the Caldecott Medal Winners