The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!

1. Bibliography

Scieszka, Jon. 1989. THE TRUE STORY OF THE 3 LITTLE PIGS!. Ill. by Lane Smith. New York: Viking Penguin. ISBN: 978-0140544510

2. Plot Summary

This version of THE THREE LITTLE PIGS is retold by Jon Scieszka as a first person tale from the viewpoint of A. Wolf (The Big Bad Wolf) and how he has been framed of committing the crimes of eating the first two pigs and trying to eat the third. A. Wolf guides you through his story from the beginning when he was making a cake for his sweet old granny all the way to how he ended up in jail being framed by the media as a really bad guy.

3. Critical Analysis

Jon Scieszka does a great job of writing as the wolf and speaking out as the innocent neighbor just seeking out a cup of sugar and getting caught in some bizarre situations and misunderstandings. The writing is straight forward, but there is a hint of embellishment and a sense that the wolf is not telling the whole truth when he “accidentally” kills two of the pigs and instead of calling the police to explain he instead eats the pigs because “It seemed like a shame to leave a perfectly good ham dinner lying there in the straw.” The illustrations are cartoonish and in darker shades of color to give the feel of a memory being experienced firsthand.

4. Review Excerpts

NEW YORK TIMES: “It is a kind of revisionist history in that it is told by one Alexander T. Wolf”

5. Connections

The story of THE THREE LITTLE PIGS is one that spans ages and this version would be great to read out loud and use to help young readers identify a writing style that may be new to them.

Shaskan, Trishia Speed. HONESTLY, RED RIDING HOOD WAS ROTTEN! THE STORY OF LITTLE RED RIDNG HOOD AS TOLD BY THE WOLF.  

Trivizas, Eugene. THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG.   ISBN: 0-689-81528-X