THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG - Eugene Trivizas

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Trivizas, Eugene. 1993. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. Ill. by Helen Oxenbury. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. ISBN 0-689-50569-8

2. PLOT SUMMARY
In this version of The Three Little Pigs, our introduction describes wolves as “cuddly little wolves with soft fur and fluffy tails.” Their mother sends them out into the world with a warning to watch out for the big bad pig. They decide to live together, and start out with a house made of bricks. This seems like an auspicious beginning (much better than the pig’s straw house!) … until the big bad pig shows up with a large sledge hammer. Of course, it escalates from there. Children will enjoy the extreme construction and demolition. The end is a major twist on the traditional tale.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The text of The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig would lend itself well to reading aloud, almost begging to be told to a child or group. The text and illustrations break in the right spots to create suspense for what the pig will try next. Interspersed with Helen Oxenbury’s watercolor and pastel illustrations, she has added small ink drawings with details to supplement the story. There are quite a few higher level terms, like pneumatic drill, which are made clear for younger readers through the illustrations. They can make a visual link to things they have seen, even if they didn’t know the word for them. This makes the story more accessible. Motion, effort, and emotions are evident in the illustrations, bringing extra depth. The endpapers are blanketed with teapots and teacups, a clue to the importance of the teapot in the story (watch for its escape along with the wolves!).

It is very clear which characters in The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig fall into the good side and the bad side. In addition to being experts in construction, the wolves play croquet and drink tea. The pig, true to “big bad” form, is a bully. There is no reason given for why he wants to get into their houses. There are no shades of gray or potential justifications for the pig’s behavior. For as predictable as the pig is, these wolves think outside the box to find a solution.

Unlike the many folk tales, the setting for this story is the modern world based on construction materials. But, there is no reference to how much time passes during each construction phase. This is not a variant with a cultural perspective, regional setting, or area-specific idioms.

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig follows the repetitive patterns of traditional tellings, so children familiar with one of those stories will find the action they expect with a great deal of predictability. The book starts with “Once upon a time…” There are the requisite huffing, puffing, and “chinny-chin-chins.” In some retellings of The Three Little Pigs, the wolf gets his just desserts in the chimney. Children may very well root for the pig to be punished here. Children need to learn how to deal with bullies, and this story shows that it is possible for bullies to change. Most people will have to deal with someone difficult at some point, so this is a theme that will resonate with a lot of children. Trivizas even gives the reader a “happily ever after ending.”

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S) AND AWARDS

ALCS Notable Children’s Books, 1994

Books For Growing Minds - Best Of The Backlist, 1995

Booklist Editors Choice, 1993

Baker & Taylor Elementary School Core Collection - Level 1, 1997

School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

Booklist: “The concepts that beauty can facilitate change and that tenderness works better than toughness won't be lost on kids.”

Publishers Weekly:  “A talented team ingeniously up-ends the classic tale of the three little pigs, and the laugh-out-loud results begin with the opening illustration…Oxenbury's watercolors capture the story's broad humor and add a wealth of supplementary details, with exquisite renderings of the wolves' comic temerity and the pig's bellicose stances. Among the wittiest fractured fairytales around.”

5. CONNECTIONS

-          Students can read a variety of different retellings of the Three Little Pigs to look for common elements and the changes they enjoy.

Brett, Jan. The Three Little Dassies. ISBN 978-0-399-25499-4 (Southern Africa)

Ketteman, Helen. The Three Little Gators. ISBN 978-0-8075-7824-7 (East Texas/bayou)

Lowell, Susan. The Three Little Javalinas. ISBN 0-87358-542-9 (Southwest)

McNamara, Margaret. The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot. ISBN 978-0-375-96689-7

Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. ISBN 0-670-82759-2

Sierra, Judy. Tell the Truth, B. B. Wolf. ISBN 978-0-375-95620-1

Wiesner, David. The Three Pigs. ISBN 978-0-618-00701-1

-          The class could create their own story, giving it a twist particular to their town or even school.

-          Students could prepare a puppet show for one of the younger grades, and could even find or create sound effects to go along with it.

-          This book could be used in conjunction with guidance lessons on bullying or No Place For Hate, as a jumping point for discussions of how to interact with peers or resolve conflicts.