Module 6 The True Story of the Three Little Pigs

Citation Scieszka, J. (1989). The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. New York: Viking Kestrel.

Summary: Basically, Scieszka gives the Big Bad Wolf’s side of the story in the classic story of the three little pigs and how things are not what they always appear. There are always two sides to every story.

Review:

Full-Text Reviews

Publishers Weekly (March 4, 1996)

"Designed with uncommon flair," said PW, this "gaily newfangled version of the classic tale" takes sides with the villain. "Imaginative watercolors eschew realism, further updating the tale." A Spanish-language reprint will be issued simultaneously ($4.99, -055758-X). Ages 3-8. (Mar.)

Editorial Reviews

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.

Impression:

I think it’s about time someone gave the wolf’s side of the story. Why is the wolf always the bad guy; even in Little Red Riding Hood, he’s the bad guy. Maybe it was a simple case of mistaken identity or being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Is it so hard to believe that perhaps the wolf had allergies or a cold and just needed to borrow some sugar and he accidentally blew their houses down. Maybe the pigs did something to him, maybe he was the victim and not the other way around.

Lesson:

Brainstorm with students what more they would like to know about A. Wolf. What questions would they like to ask him about what happened to the pigs. Have the students write a letter to A. Wolf.

-Ask students what other fairy tales they know and how they would change if they were told from another point of view. How would Cinderella's stepsisters tell her famous story? How would Snow White's stepmother explain what happened to her? Have children write their own versions of famous fairy tales with a twist.

-What point of view do your students feel is correct - the pigs or the wolf's point of view?

-Compare the two stories:
brainstorm some things that happened in the Three Little Pigs story that did not happen in the True Story



Publishers Weekly. (1996). [Review of the book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka]. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from http://www.titlewave.com/search?SID=9ed17dd818bc483657a0ab69182e34b3

Amazon. (n.d.) [Review of the book The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka]. Amazon. Retrieved from
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0140544518/ref=rdr_ext_tmb

Teaching Heart (n.d.). Lesson Ideas to Match the Book: The True Story of the Three Pigs. Teaching Heart. Retrieved from
http://www.teachingheart.net/truepigs.html