Genre 2, Book Review 3: THE THREE LITTLE PIGS by James Marshall

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Bibliographic Data  

Marshall, James. 1989. The Three Little Pigs. New York: Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN: 0803705913. (Adapted, Illustrated by author)

Plot Summary

In this retelling of the classic story, three little pigs leave home and build houses of their own of straw, sticks, and bricks. A wolf visits each of them. He is able to blow down the house of straw and the house of sticks, and he eats the pigs living in them. He cannot blow down the brick house, so he tries to trick the pig out of the house so he can eat him too. When he doesn’t succeed, he tries to break in and the pig kills and eats him instead.

Critical Analysis 

This retelling is aimed at readers ages 4-8. Though I haven’t read the story of The Three Little Pigs in years, I was quite delighted with Marshall’s retelling of this childhood favorite. Immediately noticeable in the book is the typeface used, which is a traditional font that is large and easy to read. The very colorful pictures in the story are comical and often neatly framed in boxes. Marshall wisely chose to draw the three pigs very differently from each other, giving each their own style and personality. Their houses are tall and amusing. 

I found it humorous that Marshall chose to show the reader the house the three pigs leave when saying goodbye to their mother. I have often wondered why they built with straw, sticks, and bricks, and it amused me to see that their mother’s house was made of wood in this retelling. The wording in this variant is different from what I heard as a kid, but Marshall did keep the wonderful refrain “Not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.” 

The third pig interacts with the wolf a great deal in this story, and gives the reader a twist ending by getting the upper hand on the wolf so he is able to kill and eat him. The cover art to this book is also quite cute; the front has the three pigs on a stage, and the back art shows their backs and the audience and spotlights beyond them out into the theater. It’s an adorable homage to the “favorite” status of this classic tale.

Awards 

The film Marshall made of this book won several awards, including: 

• ALA Notable Video

• Red Ribbon, American Film & Video Festival
• Silver Award, Birmingham International Educational Film Festival
• Bronze Apple, National Educational Film & Video Festival 

Reviews 

School Library Journal: "Marshall brings his own brand of humor to both text and pictures in this retelling of the popular nursery tale. … Without a word of description, the colorful cartoon illustrations in ink and watercolor give the three pigs separate personalities. … Good stories can be retold endlessly, and Marshall's inventive version of The Three Little Pigs is an excellent addition for all library picture-book collections."

The Horn Book: "When James Marshall rolls up his sleeves and reaches for a familiar tale, veteran readers should know by now to brace themselves for a round of hilarity. In his spiffed-up version of the story, the three porkers follow the traditional course of straw, sticks, and bricks with the traditional results, but the players and accoutrements have a bit more zip than those in other versions. … Although the reteller-illustrator has wisely left the '“not by the hair of my chinny chin chin”' exchange intact, he has obviously had a grand time with other dialogue."

Connections

Enrichment Activities 

The film for this story is available on YouTube for children to enjoy watching: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joll62WS9H4 

Because The Three Little Pigs is a classic tale, there are a ton of enrichment activities already created and available online for children, including the following: 
http://www.dltk-teach.com/rhymes/pigs/index.htm 
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/stories/fairytale/threelittlepigs/ 
http://www.sparklebox.co.uk/cll/fairy/pigs.html#.TgT9OEdcCfU 
http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/english/englishC4.htm


Other Books by Marshall 

• Red Riding Hood (retold by James Marshall) by James Marshall (Adapter), Charles Perrault (Author) (Picture Puffins Books, 1993) 
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears by James Marshall (Picture Puffins Books, 1998) 
• James Marshall's Cinderella by Barbara Karlin (Adapter), James Marshall (Illustrator) (Picture Puffins Books, 2001) 
• Hansel and Gretel by James Marshall (Picture Puffins Books, 1994)

Related Readings 

• The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas (Author), Helen Oxenbury (Illustrator) (Margaret K. McElderry, 1997) 
• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka (Author), Lane Smith (Illustrator) (Picture Puffins Books, 1996) 
• The Frog Prince, Continued by Jon Scieszka (Author), Steve Johnson (Illustrator) (Picture Puffins Books, 1994)