The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

The True Story of The Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka, with illustrations by Lane Smith, is a hilarious, wonderful journey through a classic fairy tale. The book itself is a fractured fairy tale, as well as a picture book. The illustrations are in a collage style, and are heavily impressionistic and cartoonish, adding life and color to the great humor exhibited in the narration.

In the book, the Big Bad Wolf (known as A. Wolf in this edition), tells his side of the story of his interactions with the three little pigs. Originally traveling only to get a cup of sugar from his less-than-kind piggie neighbors, the Wolf describes his troubled path as a series of misadventures and misunderstandings.

Activities:

1. Stage a play in class. With four people, have one play the Big Bad Wolf, and the other three play the three little pigs. Using the book, try and figure out how your character would act, and why. After, discuss what you learned about your character that you may not have otherwise discovered.

2. Duck Duck Wolf. Have one student ask for a cup of sugar from each student in the class. Have the students portray reactions from the book, as the little piggies. After, ask the student playing the Wolf what it felt like, and how they reacted. Take turns. 

3. Mock Trial. Put the Wolf on trial. Have students play lawyers for the pigs and the wolf, and other students play the jury. What evidence can you find in the book to support or defend your side? For the jury, what is going to sway you the most in determining the Wolf's fate? 

4. Pick another famous fairy tale and re-tell it from the villain's perspective in the same way. What did you learn? How does perspective change things? 

This book was a favorite of mine as a kid. We read it in class in elementary school, and I thought it was so hilarious, and the illustrations so great, that I got a copy for home as well. The humor in telling the Wolf's story, and the spin on the classic fairytale, are charming, relatable, and teach a good lesson about listening to both sides of the story--no matter which side you come out on! Other similar books include another Scieszka/Smith collaboration, The Stinky Cheese Man, Prince Cinders by Babette Cole (another fractured fairy tale), and The Three Ninja Pigs by Corey Schwartz (another spin on the same fairy tale.) 

Bibliography

Scieszka, Jon; Smith, Lane. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. (1996) Puffin Books