The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig

The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig

Author: Eugene Trivizas

Illustrator: Helen Oxenbury

Aladdin Paperbacks 1993

ISBN 9780689815287

Eugene Trivizas has taken the classic Three Little Pigs and done a complete one-eighty. At the beginning of the story the three little wolves mother tells them it’s time to set out and be on their own. She also warns them about the big bad pig. However, unlike the classic tale, these three wolves stick together and begin their new lives. Their first home is made of brick that was donated by a friendly kangaroo. After building their house of brick, the wolves are playing a game of croquet when the big bad pig comes along; so, the wolves run into their home to hide. The big bad pig tells them to let him in or he “will huff and puff and blow their house down.” When the wolves say no, “he huffed and he puffed and he puffed and he huffed, but the house didn’t fall down.” Since the big bad pig is who he is, he gets a sledgehammer and knocks the wolves’ house down and they barely escape. The story continues with the wolves building two more houses out of stronger materials only to have them knocked down by the big bad pig. Trivizas twists the story once again with the conclusion of the tale. The three little wolves build their last house out of flowers. When the big bad pig begins to huff and puff he inhales the beautiful sent of flowers and becomes a changed pig. The three little wolves and the big “good” pig became friends and they all lived happily ever after.

Eugene Trivizas’s version of the classic Three Little Pigs is creative and amusing. The three little wolves encounter various types of animals who are more than willing to donate to their homes. His big bad pig is so determined to demolish the wolves’ homes that he finds tools such as a sledgehammer, a pneumatic drill and dynamite. Some readers may pick up on the moral of never give up.

Helen Oxenbury’s illustrations are colorful and wonderfully enhance the story. The characters are realistic enough to be identifiable but cartoonish enough to make talking animals believable. The characters’ facial expressions comically emphasize the characters’ emotions.

This picture book is a good example of a fractured fairy tale. It could be used in a unit comparing and contrasting the original story with the variations. It could also be used to encourage students to write their own version of the tale.