Module 3: The Three Pigs by David Wiesner

a. The Three Pigs is a non-traditional version of the old favorite three pigs that wear out a bad wolf who wants to eat them. This tale does wear him out and elude him but in a very unique way. The author and illustrator David Wiesner create this alternate universe that the pigs are puffed into, out of the book, and can hide from the wolf. Being the big bad wold that he is, he bluffs by saying that he ate each pig up. The pigs, who are in the white space along the pages, decide to take the wolf’s page and turn it into a paper plane. They fly through this other universe but eventually crash. They proceed to hop in and out of different stories, invite the cat and his fiddle and seemingly save a dragon and his golden rose. They all make it back to the brick house where the dragon intimidates the stubborn wolf. They all seem to live happily ever after. b. Wiesner, D., (2001). The three pigs. New York: Clarion Books. c. This book seemed like another version of the three pigs tale but I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was wrong. To be honest, when the story started to veer from the traditional tale, I had to double back to understand what happened. It took me a few seconds to realize that the pig was actually out of the story and no longer following along from house to house with his brothers. I enjoyed the creative illustrations that showed the difference between the 2D and 3D worlds. His illustrations also helped me envision a world where books are just strung up page by page and easily accessed should you free yourself from your tale. d. Flynn, K. (2001). The three pigs. Horn Book Magazine, 77(3), 341-342.

f. In the library, I would use this book, along with the traditional version, and do a compare and contrast. I would have the students make a prediction about both books and then read the traditional story first. After some discussion, we would move on to the Wiesner story. Using a Venn Diagram, we would list the similarities and differences together. The students would conclude with a statement that compares the two stories written on an exit slip.