The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!

Last updated
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!
Truestorythreepigs.jpg
Author Jon Scieszka
Cover artist Lane Smith
LanguageEnglish
Genre Children's book
PublisherViking Children's Books
Publication date
1989
Publication placeUnited States
Pages32
ISBN 0-14-054056-3
OCLC 43158890

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! is a children's book by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. Released in a number of editions since its first release by Viking Kestrel, an imprint of Viking Penguin in 1989, it is a parody of The Three Little Pigs as told by the Big Bad Wolf, known in the book as "A. Wolf", short for "Alexander T. Wolf". The book was honored by the American Library Association as an ALA Notable Book. [1]

Contents

Plot

The story is a retelling of The Three Little Pigs from the perspective of the wolf, named Alexander. Alexander attempts to request sugar from each of his neighbors, the three pigs, for baking a cake for his grandmother. Alexander accidentally kills the first and second pigs after his sneezes destroy their straw and stick houses. The third pig in the brick house refuses to give any sugar and insults Alexander's grandmother. Enraged, Alexander attempts to break down the front door. He is swiftly arrested by the pig police and sentenced to 10,000 years in prison for the first two pigs' deaths. Alexander states that the news coverage of the events was highly exaggerated, leading to his reputation as the Big Bad Wolf.

Critical reception

Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". [2] It was one of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal . [3]

Adaptation

This book was later adapted into a Weston Woods Studios animated short in 2008 with the voice of Paul Giamatti as the wolf.[ citation needed ]

See also

Notes

  1. Molly Dunham Glassman. "Writing team creates comedy for children", Baltimore Sun, reprinted in Cedar Rapids Gazette, October 18, 1992, page 2F.
  2. National Education Association (2007). "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children" . Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  3. Bird, Elizabeth (July 6, 2012). "Top 100 Picture Books Poll Results". School Library Journal "A Fuse #8 Production" blog. Archived from the original on December 4, 2012. Retrieved August 22, 2012.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Three Little Pigs</span> Fairy tale

"The one Little Pig" is a fable about three pigs who build their houses of different materials. A Big Bad Wolf blows down the first two pigs' houses which are made of straw and sticks respectively, but is unable to destroy the third pig's house that is made of bricks. The printed versions of this fable date back to the 1840s, but the story is thought to be much older. The earliest version takes place in Dartmoor with three pixies and a fox before its best known version appears in English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs in 1890, with Jacobs crediting James Halliwell-Phillipps as the source. In 1886, Halliwell-Phillipps had published his version of the story, in the fifth edition of his Nursery Rhymes of England, and it included, for the first time in print, the now-standard phrases "not by the hair of my chiny chin chin" and "I'll huff, and I'll puff, and I'll blow your house in".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Bad Wolf</span> Fairy tale character

The Big Bad Wolf is a fictional wolf appearing in several cautionary tales, including some of Grimms' Fairy Tales. Versions of this character have appeared in numerous works, and it has become a generic archetype of a menacing predatory antagonist.

<i>Charlottes Web</i> 1952 childrens novel by E. B. White

Charlotte's Web is a book of children's literature by American author E. B. White and illustrated by Garth Williams. It was published on October 15, 1952, by Harper & Brothers. The novel tells the story of a livestock pig named Wilbur and his friendship with a barn spider named Charlotte. When Wilbur is in danger of being slaughtered by the farmer, Charlotte writes messages in her web praising Wilbur, such as "Some Pig", "Terrific", "Radiant", and "Humble", to persuade the farmer to let him live.

<i>Where the Wild Things Are</i> 1963 childrens picture book by Maurice Sendak

Where the Wild Things Are is a 1963 children's picture book written and illustrated by American author and illustrator, Maurice Sendak, originally published in hardcover by Harper & Row. The book has been adapted into other media several times, including an animated short film in 1973 ; a 1980 opera; and a live-action 2009 feature-film adaptation. The book had sold over 19 million copies worldwide as of 2009, with 10 million of those being in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jon Scieszka</span> American childrens writer and reading advocate (born 1954)

Jon Scieszka is an American children's writer, best known for his picture books created with the illustrator Lane Smith. He is also a nationally recognized reading advocate, and the founder of Guys Read – a web-based literacy program for boys whose mission is "to help boys become self-motivated, lifelong readers."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo Lionni</span> Dutch-Italian artist and childrens writer

Leo Lionni was an Italian-American writer and illustrator of children's books. Born in the Netherlands, he moved to Italy and lived there before moving to the United States in 1939, where he worked as an art director for several advertising agencies, and then for Fortune magazine. He returned to Italy in 1962 and started writing and illustrating children's books. In 1962, his book Inch by Inch was awarded the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clement Hurd</span> American artist (1908-1988)

Clement Gazzam Hurd was an American artist. He is known for illustrations of children's picture books, especially collaborations with writer Margaret Wise Brown, including Goodnight Moon (1947) and The Runaway Bunny (1942).

<i>The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig</i> Inverted version of Three Little Pigs published by Heinemann

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig is a children's picture book written by Eugene Trivizas, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and first published by Heinemann in 1993. The story is a comically inverted version of the classic Three Little Pigs, a traditional fable published in the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lane Smith (illustrator)</span> American illustrator and writer (born 1959)

Lane Smith is an American illustrator and writer of children's books. He is the Kate Greenaway medalist (2017) known for his eclectic visuals and subject matter, both humorous and earnest, such as the contemplative Grandpa Green, which received a Caldecott Honor in 2012, and the outlandish Stinky Cheese Man, which received a Caldecott Honor in 1992.

<i>Corduroy</i> (book) 1968 picture book by Don Freeman

Corduroy is a 1968 children's book written and illustrated by Don Freeman, and published by The Viking Press. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children." It was one of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal. The book is about the titular character, a sentient teddy bear, in a department store whose name refers to the corduroy outfit he is wearing.

<i>Three Little Pigs</i> (film) 1933 short animated film directed by Burt Gillett

Three Little Pigs is a 1933 animated short film released by United Artists, produced by Walt Disney and directed by Burt Gillett. Based on the fable of the same name, the Silly Symphony won the 1934 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. The short cost $22,000 and grossed $250,000.

<i>Are You My Mother?</i> 1960 childrens book by P. D. Eastman

Are You My Mother? is a children's book written and illustrated by P. D. Eastman. It was published by Random House Books for Young Readers on June 12, 1960, as part of its Beginner Books series, which caters to young children ages 3–9.

<i>The Little House</i> (picture book) 1942 picture book by Virginia Lee Burton

The Little House is a 1942 children's picture book written and illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, it was the recipient of the Caldecott Medal for illustration in 1943.

<i>Chrysanthemum</i> (book) 1991 childrens book by Kevin Henkes

Chrysanthemum is a 1991 children's picture book by American writer and illustrator Kevin Henkes.

<i>Click, Clack, Moo</i> 2000 picture book by Doreen Cronin

Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type is a 2000 children's book written by Doreen Cronin. Illustrated by Betsy Lewin, the Simon & Schuster book tells the story of Farmer Brown's cows, who find an old typewriter in the barn and proceed to write letters to Farmer Brown, making various demands and then going on strike when they aren't met.

<i>Little House in the Big Woods</i> Childrens Novel

Little House in the Big Woods is an autobiographical children's novel written by Laura Ingalls Wilder and published by Harper in 1932. It was Wilder's first book published and it inaugurated her Little House series. It is based on memories of her early childhood in the Big Woods near Pepin, Wisconsin, in the early 1870s.

<i>Piggie Pie!</i> 1995 book by Margie Palatini

Piggie Pie! is a children's picture book by Margie Palatini and illustrated by Howard Fine, published by Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Company. The book was followed up by 2 more squeals, Zoom Broom! (1998) and Broom Mates (2003).

Aaron Blabey is an Australian author of children's books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivia (fictional pig)</span> Fictional character

Olivia is a fictional pig character in a series of children's picture books written and illustrated by the late Ian Falconer, the first entry of which was published in 2000. An animated television series, Olivia, inspired by the character premiered in 2009.

<i>The Kissing Hand</i> American childrens picture book featuring anthropomorphic raccoons

The Kissing Hand is an American children's picture book written by Audrey Penn and illustrated by Ruth E. Harper and Nancy M. Leak. It features a mother raccoon comforting a child raccoon by kissing its paw. First published by the Child Welfare League of America in 1993, it has been used "to reassure children upset by separation anxiety."