Product description

The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

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Average customer rating: 5.0

Author : Jon Scieszka
Binding : Paperback
EAN : 9780140544510
ISBN : 0140544518
Label : Puffin
Manufacturer : Puffin
Number of pages : 32
Publication date : 1996-03-01
Publisher : Puffin
Title : The True Story of the Three Little Pigs
Languages : Array
Number of items : 1
Studio : Puffin

Editorial reviews

Product Description
is presented from the humorous perspective of a beleaguered wolf, whose innocent requests to borrow cups of sugar are rendered cataclysmic by a snoutful of unfortunate sneezes. Reprint. NYT. AB. NYT.

Amazon.com Review
Did the story of the three little pigs ever seem slightly biased to you? All that huffing and puffing--could one wolf really be so unequivocally evil? Finally, we get to hear the rest of the story, "as told to author Jon Scieszka," straight from the wolf's mouth. As Alexander T. Wolf explains it, the whole Big Bad Wolf thing was just a big misunderstanding. Al Wolf was minding his own business, making his granny a cake, when he realized he was out of a key ingredient. He innocently went from house to house to house (one made of straw, one of sticks, and one of bricks) asking to borrow a cup of sugar. Could he help it if he had a bad cold, causing him to sneeze gigantic, gale-force sneezes? Could he help it if pigs these days use shabby construction materials? And after the pigs had been ever-so-accidentally killed, well, who can blame him for having a snack?

As with The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales, (another stellar collaboration by Scieszka and illustrator Lane Smith), children who know all the old stories by heart will delight in reading impudent new versions. Here, Scieszka's text is clever, savvy, and tabloid-quick, and Smith's stretchy-strange illustrations complete this funny, irreverent, thoroughly original tale. (Ages 4 to 8)

Customer reviews

review by: Gadget geek date: 2009-01-01 rating:

Loved reading this as a kid
I read this book aloud at my kindergarten graduation (we did a play with the 3 little wolves and this story worked together) and after watching the video of that recently it reminded me of how much I loved this story and I think because of stories like this and the 3 little wolves story I learned to think outside the box and love things that aren't the norm. I encourage any parent to read this book to their children as it is a great story that was really funny and definitely made me think of things differently than everyone else sees them.

review by: date: 2008-10-28 rating:

A new spin on an old story
This book is the classic story of the "three little pigs" from the wolf's perspective. It is a bit funny, sometimes very funny, but more important, it shows children, that even if you think you KNOW what happened, there is always two sides to every story. It is an entertaining way to teach children not to engage or believe gossip, but to seek out the truth. Additionally, it shows how both sides involved in a conflict, can view the exact same situation in two totally different ways. This is an enagaging and enjoyable story, and fun for all ages!

review by: date: 2008-10-18 rating:

A great read aloud book!
When I read this book, I loved it. When I read it to Kindergarden-First grade children they loved it as well. One could do many activites and have many discussions about this book. Highly recommend, not only for teachers.

review by: 1st Grade teacher date: 2008-09-25 rating:

HIlarious
Well, if this isn't now just a modern kid classic? And frankly, I can't resist it either. I'm sorry, but I find this ridiculously funny with it's subtle reworking of key story phrases, the tabloid-style pictures, and the quirky, personable writing.

review by: Media Maven date: 2008-08-21 rating:

A Fresh and Funny Perspective
"Everybody knows the story of the Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think they do. But I'll let you in on a little secret. Nobody knows the real story, because nobody has ever heard my side of the story."

This is what Alexander T. Wolf (but you can call him "Al") tells to pseudo-biographer Jon Scieszka at the start of this tale of the "real story" behind what happened between Al and that irksome triad of swine, the Three Little Pigs. Al claims that how it all got started was with "a sneeze and a cup of sugar" and things just got blown (literally) out of proportion from there.

You see, one day Al had a nasty cold that had him sneezing himself into oblivion. He was also baking a cake for his dear old granny for her birthday, ran out of sugar, so decided to go to his neighbors for help (what, there's not a corner store in Al's neck of the woods?). Those neighbors happen to be pigs and poor craftsmen at that - Al manages to knock down two of the pigs' houses (one of straw, one of sticks) with those gigantic sneezes of his. He then eats the deceased so they "don't spoil" and then moves on to the last house (made of brick) to plead for that cup of sugar he so desperately needs. The pig in the brick house denies him passage AND sugar, inciting Al's anger with a nasty little comment about his grandmother. This has Al seething and when the authorities roll up, he is sneezing uncontrollably and with great force whilst trying to break down the door. The media frenzy this creates gives Al the "Big Bad" moniker he has had to this day, a misnomer this entire story has sought to discredit.

But how are you gonna trust a wolf behind bars?

Scieszka's amusing take on the hapless villain of this oldest-of-old fairytales is just as amusing for the adult as it is for the young reader. Lane Smith's illustrations are spectacular, designing Al as the everyman (or should I say "everywolf") with a demure sweatervest, bowtie and studious-looking spectacles. What little we see of the pigs (other than their shiny rear ends paired with fork and knife) isn't nice - they are literally painted as antagonists, for we aren't meant to sympathize with them in this story.

Bottom line: This is a great children's book to own (I read it myself when I was a child and loved it), especially if you and/or your child are familiar with the original story. It will provide a fresh and funny perspective time and time again.

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