Traditional Literature- THE THREE PIGS by David Wiesner

Bibliographic Data

The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

Clarion Books ©2001

ISBN: 9780618007011

Brief Plot Summary

Three pigs start their new individual lives. The first builds his home of straw and sure enough the wolf asks to enter, is denied, and blows the straw house down. But this time is different. This pig flies right off the page despite the text saying he is eaten. The second pig makes his escape off the page then the two find the third. The story transforms featuring the three pigs in negative space flying on paper airplane. They wonder into another story- a nursery rhyme. They escape into a fantasy tale with a dragon that they befriend. They take the dragon back with them to the negative space to explore other stories. They rebuild the story of the three little pigs and re-enter it. The dragon scares off the wolf and they all live happily ever after in their new hybrid storyland.

Critical Analysis

This version of the classic folktale of The Three Little Pigs is transformed taking the reader into the imagination of David Wiesner. All three pigs completely leave the story and enter a new world of magic and wonder that celebrates literature. Using verbal irony the tale begins as usual, but the pigs pop out of the story by chance.

(Characters examining other worlds in what appear to be pages from other stories)

(The pigs wonder into another well-known story and a cat follows them out)

Accomplished through three-dimensional art, the pigs fall off the page appearing photo-realistic while the story art appears two-dimensional. They wonder into other stories that have their own motifs. The nursery rhymes is bright and simple. The fantasy tale is colorless and detailed.

(The pig falling out of the two-dimensional story into a new world where he is three-dimensional. Notice the wolfs arms bending like a human)

Three Pigs is a beast tale because the characters are animals with human behaviors. They talk and even the wolf’s front leg bends like a human arm to knock on the door. It is also a fractured fairy tale because it parodies a classic story. It will leave children remarking about the distinctions between the two.

(In this version the pigs befriend this dragon and take him back with them)

This version is like a folktale in many ways. The characters embody virtues of either good or evil. Surprisingly the dragon is good. The plot features the protagonists overcoming obstacles and going on a long journey. The setting is in a faraway and simple place. The theme is the good pigs (and dragon) triumphing over the bad wolf and living happily ever after. It teaches readers the value of friendship.

(Displacing text while living happily ever after)

Review Excerpt(s)

“The story begins in a traditional, flat, almost old-fashioned illustrative style. But once the first pig leaps from the picture's frame, he becomes more shaded, bristly with texture, closer to a photographic image. As the pigs travel and enter each new story world, they take on the style of their surroundings--the candy-colored nursery rhyme, the almost comic-book fairy tale--until, in the end, they appear as they did at the beginning.” -Gillian Engberg (Booklist, May 15, 2001 (Vol. 97, No. 18))

“Children, young teenagers, and adults, too, will find great pleasure and humor in the unexpected turns of this tale.” -CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 2002)

“The pigs have braved the new world and returned with their treasure: the cat for company and fiddle music, the dragon's golden rose for beauty, and the dragon himself for warmth and protection from the wolf.” -Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2001 (Vol. 69, No. 7))

Connections

Read this story in an art themed storytime. While reading ask the children how the art differs in each tale the pigs wonder into. Follow with an activity where the children choose a favorite story by asking what story would they wonder into. Have them try to replicate the art in that kind of story.

Three Pigs has many stories within it. Have the audience identify the stories after reading aloud. Surprise them by reading stories like the ones in the book.

Read the story then listen to David Wiesner talk about his writing process here (http://www.teachingbooks.net/author_collection.cgi?id=47&a=1) . Have the children create their own story in a similar way by drawing the pictures first then writing the narration.