Title: The Three Pigs
Author: David Wiesner
Publisher: Clarion Books, p2001, c2001
ISBN-13: 978-0-618-00701
ISBN-10: 0-618-00701-6
Classifications: Fiction/Easy
Interest/Reading Levels: K-3, 2.4
Book Summary:
We all
know the story. Three little pigs, two not so smart, build their houses strong
or become wolf food. What happens if the pigs were able to leap out of the
story, fold up the pages into a paper airplane and fly away? That is exactly
what Wiesner’s pigs do. Trying to run from the wolf they leap from the book and
travel to other stories to hide, meeting up with the cat and the fiddle and
eventually a dragon. The end is just as
crazy as the three pigs make their way back into the story with the cat and
fiddle and the dragon in tow. How does the story end when the wolf yells let me
in and the dragon answers? Read this and find out!
My Impressions:
This
book is well deserving of the 2001 Caldecott Medal. While some reviews think the pages too busy,
I found the amount of discussion that can come from this story to be worth a
little confusion. This is a story that can be read over and over each time finding
something new in the illustrations or character dialogue. This is an excellent read when discussing what
happens when the illustrations tell a different story than the text. My five
year old asked to have it read three times in a row when we first bought it. I
caught him several times that day making the “I’m confused” face of the wolf. This is truly one of those books that are a
must have for any library.
Library Toolbox of Tips and Tricks:
- Comparing: There are so many versions of three little pigs that follow the traditional format! Get out a Venn Diagram and have the students help you decided what is the same and what is different about Wiesner’s version!
- Brainstorming and Rewriting: Those little pigs had good reason for leaving their story! What would happen if all characters in books could do that? Have children go and get their favorite library book and brainstorm with you about how the stories would change if their characters could just “jump ship.” Have students rewrite the ending to their stories.
- Discussion:Themes: Two stories simultaneously, story in a story. Questions to prompt discussion:
- How many stories are being told in The Three Pigs?
- Why does the wolf look confused when it comes to the part of the story where he “ate the pig up.”? How do the illustrations differ from the text? Where is the pig? Why can’t the wolf find him?
- Point out the cat in the corner after the Hey Diddle Diddle. ‘Why does the cat follow them?”
- How do the pigs find the dragon and why are they (the pigs) ”pushing” the dragon out of his book?
- How do the pigs get back into their story, or into any of the stories?
- What happens to the wolf at the end? How is that different than the other stories?
References:
reviews/david-wiesner/the-three-pigs/#review
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