THE THREE LITTLE PIGS by James Marshall

Review by Christi De Leon

1.    BIBLIOGRAPHY

Marshall, James. The Three Little Pigs. New York: Dial Books, 1989. ISBN 0803705913

2.    PLOT SUMMARY

This book retells the well-known tale of The Three Little Pigs. Three brother pigs leave home and each build a house of their own. A wolf successfully blows down the first two houses and eats both pigs. The last pig, however, builds a sturdy house and does not fall for the wolf’s plans. Instead, the pig eventually outsmarts the wolf. The pig ends up cooking him in his big pot and eats him up.

3.    CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This simple version of The Three Little Pigs begins with “Once upon a time” as the pigs set out on their own adventures. Each pig builds a house, and a conflict arises with the wolf. Each time, the wolf repeats, “Little pig, little pig, let me in.” The pig replies saying, “No, no, no not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.” Unfortunately, the first two pigs did not build their houses sturdy enough, and the wolf blows them both down. The third pig, however, takes advice to use bricks from a man and replies with, “Capital idea, my good fellow!” Clearly, the third pig has the most common sense. In the end, the smart pig triumphs over the mean wolf by cooking him and eating him. This story shows us how hard work and a sturdy foundation pays off.

Ink and watercolor painting were used to illustrate this familiar tale. When the pigs are leaving their mother, their eyes and attire fatefully convey their future. For instance, the third pig appears ready to fully embrace opportunity in his business suit and decides to looks back at his mother one last time, unlike the other pigs. The first pig actually has his eyes closed, as if he is about to thoughtlessly walk right into trouble. The colorful and comical art noticeably extends the story. As a humorous side note, it looks like the wolf takes the first pig’s hat and the second pig’s balloon with him on his next pursuit.

4.    REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

From School Library Journal: “Marshall brings his own brand of humor to both text and pictures in this retelling of the popular nursery tale. He retains the classic format of the tale, including all of the familiar phrases ("I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in"), but his own asides make the story fresh and lively.”

From Publishers Weekly: "Readers who grin when they pick up this title can be forgiven for correctly anticipating amusing antics within, especially if they are familiar with Marshall's other half-fractured fairy tales (including Goldilocks and the Three Bears, a Caldecott Honor book)."

5.    CONNECTIONS

Gather other James Marshall books to read such as:

Goldilocks and the Three Bears. ISBN 0140563660

Red Riding Hood. ISBN 0140546936

Gather other retellings of The Three Little Pigs to read such as:

Kellogg, Steven. ISBN 0064437795

Seibert, Patricia. ISBN 1577683676

A Kindergartener’s response:

“That wolf was scary. He had sharp teeth and a lot of fur.”

Possible activities:

Read The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! told by Jon Scieszka. Compare and contrast The Three Little Pigs and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! using a Venn Diagram.

Ask students to construct towers of different materials, such as wooden blocks, foam cubes, and plastic cups. Have students attempt to blow each of them down, just like the wolf did, to discover which structure is sturdiest.