The Three Little Pigs

 

Bibliographic Data: 
 

Marshall, James. 1989. The Three Little Pigs. New York: Grosset and Dunlap.
ISBN 9780803705944

Plot Summary:

This version of The Three Little Pigs begins with three pig brothers leaving home in order to seek their fortunes. The first little pig comes across a man carrying a load of straw and decides to buy the straw to build a house. Once the first little pig builds his home, a hungry wolf comes by asking to be let in. When the pig refuses, the wolf blows his straw house down and gobbles him up. The second little pig has a similar experience only he chooses to build his house out of sticks. The wolf easily blows his house down as well and gobbles him up. The third (and apparently wiser) little pig decides to purchase bricks and builds a much sturdier house. The wolf cannot blow this house down, so he decides to outwit the little pig by coaxing him out of the house. He sets a time for the two to pick turnips, but the little pig leaves Farmer Jones’s turnip field before the wolf has a chance to meet him and gobble him up. He tries this method twice more by setting a meeting time to pick apples and planning a time to meet at the fair. The little pig is able to avoid the wolf each time and return home before the wolf can eat him. The wolf becoming very impatient decides to come down the little pig’s chimney and ends up falling into a big iron pot the pig placed at the bottom. The pig ends up cooking and gobbling the wolf up for dinner.

Critical Analysis:

James Marshall’s retelling of the classic folktale follows a similar plot line that many previous versions have adhered to. This version adds additional conversation while still being true to the traditional dialogue including the wolf’s plea of “little pig, little pig, let me come in” and each little pigs’ response “not by the hair of my chinny chin chin”. Marshall also illustrates the tale and introduces stout, colorful caricatures of the little pigs and their antagonist. The vibrant watercolor illustrations enhance this traditional tale following the cumulative story line.

Review Excerpt(s):

Publisher’s Weekly review, 1989:
“There are fairy tales, and there are Marshall's tales. Readers can also be forgiven for preferring his over all the rest.”

School Library Journal review, 1989:

“The wolf, with his slouching posture and shifty, yellow eyes, looks just the sort of character who would lose his temper and jump down the chimney when force and tricks fail to capture the third little pig. Good stories can be retold endlessly, and Marshall's inventive version of The Three Little Pigs is an excellent addition for all library picture-book collections.”

Connections:

*Ask students what they already know about the story. Have they heard it before? What are some things they remember from the story?

*Compare and contrast another variant of The Three Little Pigs. After reading Marshall’s version and another, create a chart listing the differences and similarities.

*Other versions and variants of The Three Little Pigs:

Watts, Bernadette. The Three Little Pigs ISBN 9780735840584  
Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs ISBN 9780670827596
Weisner, David. The Three Pigs ISBN 9780618007011
Kimmel, Eric. The Three Little Tamales ISBN 9780761455196