Picture Book #7 - Caldecott Medal

Title:  The Three Pigs

Author:  David Wiesner

Illustrator:  David Wiesner

Genre:  Children's Fiction 

Subgenre:  Early Reader Animal Fantasy

Themes: classic story books, the three little pigs story, building friendships, facing your enemy, exploring stories

Primary and Secondary Characters:  the three little pigs, the wolf, the cat and the fiddle, the dragon

Awards:  2002 Caldecott Medal Winner 

Date of Publication: 2001 

Publishing Company:  Clarion Books

Summary:

This funny and adventurous book explores how a story really should be read.  From the classic story of "The Three Little Pigs," this book begins that exact same way.  Only, there's a fun twist to it.  Instead, the three pigs realize they can jump out of the story and escape the mean wolf.  They then adventure to living inside other stories that include the "Hey Diddle Diddle" nursery rhymes and a story about a dragon.  Now all these characters are together and they see what other stories exist.  They are all amazed that there are so many other stories!  The pigs then find their own story and decide to go back home to teach that wolf a lesson.  The pigs invite the cat and the fiddle and the dragon to join them.  They all go back inside "The Three Little Pigs" story, but when the wolf says he's going to blow the house down, the dragon peeks his head out the door and scares the wolf away.  The story ends with them all cozied around a big pot of soup and of course, like the classics say, "they all lived happily ever after."

How it will be used in the classroom:
This book gives me a great idea that could be used from grades 1-3.  It would be great to read this story, but then have the students choose a story that they would like to change the ending of.  This would give the students the opportunity to use their creativity to see what their imagination consists of.  But, this would be a great reading opportunity for students in grades K-2 also.