Customer Reviews

True Story of the Three Little Pigs (Picture Puffins)

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Authors these days are constantly reinterpreting old fairy tales and nursery rhymes to spice them up, repackage them, and sell them as something new. Credit this idea, in part, to the illustrious Jon Scieszka (a free cup of sugar to anyone who pronounces his name correctly) and illustrator Lane Smith. Together, these two have successfully rendered the world of nursery-dom topsy turvey, beginning with the clever, "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!". At long last, the viewer has a chance to look past the biased press and (undoubtedly) stacked juries to hear the true story from the lips of Mr. Alexander T. Wolf himself.

As Wolf puts it, the whole thing was just a big misunderstanding. One of those events that get blown way out of proportion. See, it's like this... the wolf was just looking to borrow a cup of sugar for his poor bed-ridden granny. He wanted to make a cake for her, but finding himself lacking the necessary ingredients he went to his nearest neighbor to borrow some. Now here's where it all went higgledy-piggledy. The pig (living in a straw home) didn't answer the door and the wolf had a bad cold. By pure bad luck he accidentally sneezed the home down and, in effect, killed the pig. Thinking it a bad idea to waste pork, the wolf ate the pig and decided to try another neighbor. And so it went until he got to the brick house and was shortly, thereafter, arrested. Poor poor wolfie.

Here's what you have to contend with if you read this book to l'il uns. Yes, you have a wolf eating pigs. Which is, to be fair, what wolves do. Now you never see the wolf actually put each pig in his mouth. And you never see the pig's faces prior to their devourement. So, frankly, how much worse is this than your average fairy tale? Trust me, the kids'll get over it. After all, the book is aligned in such a way that your sympathies really do side with the wolf himself. I was especially amused by the book's take on the "biased" media. Says the wolf, the truth was kind of dull, "So they jazzed up the story with all of that `Huff and puff and blow your house down.' And they made me the Big Bad Wolf".

Aside from the great story, Lane Smith really did a nice job with the illustrations on this one. Tiny details spot every scene. Notice, if you will, the brick car parked next to the third pig's brick house. Notice that all the reporters are pigs (as is the jailor at the end). Best of all, check out the wolf's portrait of his grandmother looking suspiciously like another wolf of classic lore.

It's a great book and an amusing (if somewhat overdone these days) story. Like a good ironic twisty tale? Enjoy seeing a fairy tale creature protesting the media? Dislike pigs? Then pull a chair up and take a gander at that wonderful 1989 concoction, "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!". It's a doozy.

This totally engaging book would appeal to young and old alike. The Big Bad Wolf portrays himself as the innocent victim of a huge misunderstanding. He actually seems like a cool con man.
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs would be a great read aloud and could be used as a wonderful example of compare and contrast when used in conjuction with The Three Little Pigs.

This is a very good book for our 7 year old. He laughed all the way through it. Good books make reading for kids a pleasure and a skill they will likely continue.

This is the book that put Jon Scieszka on the map. He has since gone on to much recognition and acclaim, especially for The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. It also marked the start of his collaboration with illustrator Lane Smith, who subsequently wrote (and of course illustrated) his own John, Paul, George, And Ben.

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs turns the classic story on its head:
"The whole Big Bad Wolf thing is all wrong. The real story is about a sneeze and a cup of sugar."

Confusingly, multiple editions on Amazon show different reading levels. Honestly, the 4-8 range on the Puffin paperback is on the young side. It is not a question of vocabulary but of content. This is dark and wonderful in a Tim Burton sort of way. (Coincidence? Lane was Art Director for the Burton-produced James and the Giant Peach (Special Edition).) The Dutton paperback instead is 9-12, which I think is more on the mark. Children should have a certain level of maturity to appreciate this. Of course, parents can enjoy it immediately! My Scholastic paperback lists no age level. In any case the content is the same on all three.


Puffin
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

Dutton
The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf (Picture Puffin)

Scholastic
The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs!

this is a wondfull book
It's very funning. I thik any child will love this book

If you you are looking for some light entertainment, this is a great read for kids and adults who are young at heart. Then, if you think about it, the book could be a really good way to help kids or adults think about the wolves who try to sell us baloney in politics and other arenas everyday. This wolf is a modern day con artist trying to twist the truth, and hide his true nat. After all, wasn't that the original intent of many myths and fairly tales? But if you don't want to go there, relax and enjoy this sarcastic, clever, and humorous retelling of a classic tale. Enjoy!

This book is funny and it really just says "now lets let the wollf point fingers." So just like I said now its the Wolf's turn. Also i liked this book because I always thought that maybe it wasn"t the wolf's fault. Then to top it off he mixes alot ALOT of comedy into it.

The True Story of The Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka is a really book to read. It is a hilarious book because it shows smoke, bunny ears, and other funny stuff. It shows color in the pictures because instead of black and white it shows color. It uses descriptive words because instead of saying smart it says the brain. At the end it is a funny surprise.

I liked the book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs because it was funny and has nice illiustraions. The first thing that happened was the Big Bad Wolf was making a cake for his Granny and sneezing.When all of a sudden he relizied he was all out of sugar.So he took the cup for the sugar and started to walk to neibor'shouse .The house was made out of straw the wolf noked on the door and it fell in then all of a sudden he sneezed and the house fell down.The dust clered and there was a pig laying there so the wolf ate him.So he walked to the next houseit was made out of sticks he noked on the door then he sneezed.The house fell down and the pig was dead the wolf ate him.The wolf walked to the next house it was made out of bricks the wolf noked and then he sneezed the house did not foll down.The wolf started to walk away and the pig said your Granny can sit on a pin the wolf went wild and tryed to break in.Then the police showed up and took the wolf to jail so the story about the huffing and puffing was made up by the news.

Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think they do. Read to find out what really happened from the Wolf's point of view.