Review: Wiesner, D. (2001). The three pigs.

Wiesner, D. (2001). The three pigs. New York, NY: Clarion Books.

This Caldecott-awarded retelling of the classic fable regarding three little pigs breaks the fourth wall when the first little pig is huffed and puffed “right out of the story,” preventing the confused wolf from being able to eat him up.  The pig then goes exploring in the fairytale realm, and from this point all “real” text appears in word bubbles. He proceeds to rescue the second little pig, and eventually they are joined by the third, folding the big bad wolf’s page into a paper airplane and sailing through various tales where they pick up additional friends in the cat with the fiddle, and a “mighty dragon” who was quite nearly slain by a greedy prince.  Much of the action is expressed through wordless illustrations, an art form for which Wiesner has been often praised.  Not only do the characters become aware of their own fictional existence, but at one point, one of the pigs peers directly out of the page at the audience, saying, “I think...someone’s out there.”  

The rewriting of their traditional fates at the hands of the dastardly wolf ends well for the pigs, as they are allowed to make their own way in the world.  Although the theme of the original tale is the recurring message that hard work is virtuous while folly will be repaid with misfortune, there is also a lesson in it about making good choices, which could be said to carry through in this more whimsical version.  The way in which the characters interact with the reader and step “outside” the pages is reminiscent of the classic 1971 Little Golden Book The Monster at the End of This Book: Starring Lovable, Furry Old Grover.