The Three Horrid Little Pigs

Written by: Liz Pichon

Illustrated by: Liz Pichon

Published by: Tiger Tales, 2008

ISBN 978-1-58925-077-2

Plot Summary:

“Once upon a time, three horrid little pigs lived with their mother in a tiny house. The pigs were very bad and they drove their mother crazy!” Soon enough, the pigs’ mother had enough of their nonsense and sent them to move out. The pigs packed their bags and were on their way. Of course, the first pig lazily tries to build a house out of straw, and the second builds a house of twigs. By and by they meet a wolf, a handyman wolf, who offers to help the pigs build nice houses.  The pigs refuse his help (by the hairs of their chinny chin chins), and off the wolf goes. The third pig is even lazier than the first two, and he decided to move into a over a chicken coop instead of building his own house. Of course, the wolf feels terrible for the chickens and invites them to stay in his beautiful, big, strong brick house with him. Meanwhile, the first pig’s house is devoured by cows, the second pig’s house is over taken by angry birds, and the pig in the chicken coop is constantly being pecked by a rooster. The pigs head to the wolf’s house and try to sneak down the chimney, but wolf has a pot of boiling water in the fireplace. After sneaking down, the pigs realize the boiling water is only soup. They all share a nice meal together, after all, the wolf has to be the “sweetest, loveliest wolf ever”. The wolf allows the pigs to stay for a while, and teaches them how to build a strong house. In the end, the pigs build a beautiful and strong house big enough for everyone, and, of course, all of the animals live happily ever after. 

Critical Analysis:

In The Three Horrid Little Pigs, Liz Pichon creates a story vastly different than the original Three Little Pigs tale. In this story, the roles are reversed… the pigs play the evil, selfish characters, and the wolf foils the pigs by playing the good, generous character. The plot in this story is familiar, but twisted. While most people are acquainted with the story of the Three Little Pigs, this version will throw the reader for a loop. The setting has not changed from the original tale, because this story takes place in an unspecific countryside. The theme of this story is also similar to the original tale. It is important always to take your time, be a good planner, and a productive worker to be successful. This story has a modern style throughout the pages. The text is written in different fonts and sizes to emphasize emotions in the story. Many times throughout the story, the characters have thought bubbles or exclamations added to the illustrations. The third pig even sports a blue mohawk.  This book lends itself easily to being red aloud, and it is sure to be an audience pleaser for young children. The painted illustrations in the book are beautiful and bright. So much emotion and so many details are painted into each page that the reader will want to spend some extra time just to explore the illustrations.

Awards and Reviews:

PreSchool-Grade 2—If you think you can't jam another twist on a classic tale into your collection, think again. Three pesky porcine protagonists are so bad that their mother kicks them out of the house. They are so lazy that they merely pile up sticks and straw for houses and one takes over a henhouse. The wolf is portrayed as a helpful handyman who offers to shore up their shoddy construction but is rebuffed each time. Rendered homeless by straw-eating cows, nesting birds who need sticks, and a pecking rooster who reclaims the henhouse, the homeless pigs get ready to head for the kindly wolf's abode. When he hears the pigs on the roof, he prepares a "big pot of boiling…soup" and invites them in. The tale ends with everyone living together happily ever after. The full-color cartoon illustrations capture the pigs' bad behavior and comeuppance with a goofy exuberance. The font size shrinks and enlarges to mirror the action and the text works as a fun read-aloud as well as a read-alone.—Marge Loch-Wouters, Menasha Public Library, WI

Connections:

This book would work wonderfully for even a crowd of older children. After reading, the children can write and illustrate their own version of The Three Little Pigs or choose a different traditional tale to flip and illustrate. Turn the stories into readers’ theatre scripts to add even more fun!

Related Titles:

Lansky, Bruce. Newfangled Fairy Tales. Monnetonka: Meadowbrook Press, 1998.

Lendler, Ian. An Undone Fairy Tale. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.

Maguire, Grogory. Leaping Beauty: And Other Animal Fairy Tales. New York: Harper Collins, 2006.

Scieszka, Jon. The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. New York: Viking Juvenile, 1992.

Trivizas, Eugene. The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books. 1993.