Plot Summary:
A. Wolf is a wolf who decides to bake his grandmother a cake for her birthday but runs out of sugar in the process. During this time, A. Wolf comes down with a cold but insists on finishing his grandmother's cake. In order to do so, he proceeds to walk down the street to ask his neighbor if he has some sugar to spare; however, due to Mr. Wolf's cold, a horrible sneezing attack takes place that leaves his neighbor's house and his neighbor in a deathly circumstance. After three instances of the same misfortune, A. Wolf is approached by policemen whose observations of the incidents do not end up in A. Wolf's favor.
Critical Analysis:
The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs is attributed as a fractured fairy tale where the author, Jon Scieszka, has parodied and altered the well known traditional tale known as The Three Little Pigs. Scieszka alters this story by providing readers with the perspective from the wolf by suggesting that it was the media who defamed the character of the wolf. Within this fractured fairy tale, the author also utilizes the usage of the following refrain: "I huffed. And I snuffed. And I sneezed a great sneeze."By incorporating this refrain within the story, the author indirectly leads readers to an increased sense of engagement. Along with Scieszka's ability to provide readers with a differing perspective of a well known traditional tale, he collaborated with Lane Smith for illustrations.
Lane Smith encompasses the context of the story through his vivid and humorous illustrations. These illustrations incorporate great detail that convey the emotion of each character within the story. From the inclusion of the hairs on the pigs' 'chinny chin chins' to the inclusion of a detailed newspaper clipping reporting the news of the Big Bad Wolf, the author and the illustrator effectively collaborate to provide users with an entertaining fractured fairy tale as told by A. Wolf.
Awards Won:
Black-Eyed Susan Book Award (Maryland) (1991), Flicker Tale Children’s Book Award (North Dakota) (1991)
Review Excerpts:
"In this gaily newfangled version of a classic tale, Scieszka and Smith ( Flying Jake ) argue in favor of the villain, transforming the story of the three little pigs into a playfully suspicious, rather arch account of innocence beleaguered. Quoth the wolf: ``I don't know how this whole Big Bad Wolf thing got started, but it's all wrong.'' According to his first-person testimony, the wolf went visiting the pigs in search of a neighborly cup of sugar; he implies that had the first two happened to build more durable homes and the third kept a civil tongue in his head, the wolf's helpless sneezes wouldn't have toppled them. As for his casual consumption of the pigs, the wolf defends it breezily (``It seemed like a shame to leave a perfectly good ham dinner lying there in the straw'') and claims cops and reporters ``framed'' him. Smith's highly imaginative watercolors eschew realism, further updating the tale, though some may find their urbane stylization and intentionally static quality mystifying adult. Designed with uncommon flair, this alternative fable is both fetching and glib." - Publishers Weekly
"In this humorous story, Alexander T. Wolf tells his own outlandish version of what really happens during his encounter with the three pigs…. Smith's simplistic and wacky illustrations add to the effectiveness of this fractured fairy tale." - Children's Literature
"Older kids (and adults) will find very funny." - School Library JournalConnections:
Customers who purchased this title also bought The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig; Goldilocks Returns; and The Frog Prince, Continued, also written by Jon Scieszka.
Interactivity:
- Allow children to participate in reciting the refrain, "And I huffed. And I snuffed. And I sneezed a great sneeze."
- Have children make miniature houses out of various material, and then ask them to try to blow them down.
- Ask children what type of materials they would build a house out of that could withstand a blow.
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