The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!

Book: The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!

Author: Jon Scieszka

Illustrator: Lane Smith

Genre: Traditional Literature (Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Fables, Humor)

Major Awards: Bluebonnet Award Master List (1992), American Library Association Notable Book Award (ALA)

Age Group: Kindergarten - 4th

Summary:

We all know the story of The 3 Little Pigs. But, the story is a little different from the Big Bad wolf's side. In this version of the 3 little pigs, we get to see it from his point of view. Alexander T. Wolf, or Al, was trying to bake a cake for his grandmother's birthday but he had run out of sugar after blowing it away with his cold. He decides to visit his neighbor's houses to see if they had any spare sugar that he could use. Surprise! His neighbors were these three little pigs that all had different materials for houses. When he arrived at the first two houses, their houses were made of straw and the other made of stick. Al had asked nicely if they had sugar but they all refused or didn't answer. The two little pigs' houses were so weak that his cold cough blew down their houses. After he finds them dead in the center of their houses, he decided to gobble them right up and not waste perfectly good food. As he continues to ask at the last and final pig's house, a house made of bricks, the wolf goes berserk after the pig talks about the grandmother offendedly. The wolf is later met by the cops and written about in the newspapers about being the Big Bad Wolf from eating the piggies and breaking down their houses. All he wanted to do was get a cup of sugar!

Evaluation & Comments:

I really enjoyed this version of the 3 little pigs. I feel like my students would would enjoy this twist on the classic story. While I read this story as a read aloud, the students could guess what happens next or guess what the wolf and piggies say to each other. At the end of the story, the students would be able to decide for themselves if they really think Alexander is the Big Bad Wolf or not. I could also teach a lesson on perspectives as this is a different viewpoint but also the same story. If there is a chance, I would love to do a lesson where I read both books and let the students decide for themselves who the real bad person is. They can also learn that everybody has a different story in their lives and that they should never judge a person before they actually learn about them and their story. 🙆