The Three Little Pigs

The Three Little Pigs

Marshall, James. The Three Little Pigs. New York: Scholastic, 1992. ISBN 0590457810

Summary:

In this fractured tale, James Marshall takes the traditional tale of The Three Little Pigs and adds a few twists sprinkled full of humor. In Marshall’s version, mother sow sends the three pigs out to live in the world on their own now that they are grown.

The first little pig decides to buy a load of straw, and even after being warned not to build his house of straw, he builds his house anyway. Shortly after his house is complete, the wolf comes for a visit and asks to be invited in. The little pig turns down the wolf, which greatly annoys him. So, the wolf decides to blow the first little pig’s house down and gobble him up.

The second little pig buys a load of sticks to construct his house. The man selling the load of sticks warns this little pig, too. The little pig ignores the warning and gets right to constructing his home. Soon after his house is finished, the wolf arrives and asks to be invited in. The little pig replies, “Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin.” Not amused by his reply, the wolf blows the second little pig’s house down and gobbles him up.

Finally, the smartest of the three pigs buys a load of bricks and gets right to work building his big, beautiful home. As soon as the third little pig is moved in, the wolf starts loitering around asking to be let in. The wolf threatens to blow the house down, and amused by the wolf, the pig tells him to try. After some time, the wolf realizes that he’ll have to be more clever if he’s going to gobble up this pig, so he invites the pig to pick turnips with him the next morning.

Smarter than your average wolf, the pig out smarts him and goes to pick turnips before he is supposed to meet the wolf. The wolf grows more annoyed and invites the pig to pick apples the next day. When apple picking fails, he tries to invite the pig to the fair. Out smarted once more, the wolf is growing increasingly more angry with the pig and tries one final attempt at getting to the third pig by jumping down the pig’s chimney. What the wolf finds at the other end of the chimney is certainly a surprise…he gets gobbled up for dinner by the pig!

Analysis:

James Marshall has an amazing knack at taking a traditional tale, twisting it, adding humor, and making it a definite favorite! This tale contains all of your traditional elements of a folktale but makes it even more engaging for the reader by adding some unpredicted events and humor.

Marshall’s text is clean and clear and easy for early readers to follow. The predictable pattern of three continues throughout the tale making this familiar story easy to move through. The repeated lines of “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house in” and “not by the hair on my chinny chin chin” make a smooth transition from the traditional tale of the three pigs to this slapstick funny version.

In his illustrations, he captures the emotions and feelings of the characters through his whimsical and cartoon-like drawings. It is through his illustrations and humor that Marshall is able to take a somewhat graphic tale of the big bad wolf and make it seem less gruesome. Marshall uses black-line outlines, which are completed with color through watercolors. The text often sits at the top or the bottom of the page, and in many instances is placed as part of the background or foreground of his illustrations. His style of writing and illustrating is consistent across his published works.

Awards and Review Excerpts:

From Publishers Weekly: “ There are fairy tales, and there are Marshall's tales. Readers can also be forgiven for preferring his over all the rest.”

From Children’s Literature: “His retelling minimizes the gruesome aspects of traditional versions but still portrays the three pigs building their respective houses out of straw, wood and bricks and then tricking the Big Bad Wolf.”

From School Library Journal: “Marshall brings his own brand of humor to both text and pictures in this retelling of the popular nursery tale… 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.” --Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY

Connections:

Collect and share other fractured tales by James Marshall, such as:

- Goldilocks and the Three Bears (Caldecott Honor) ISBN 9780140563665

- Hansel and Gretel ISBN 9780140508369

- Cinderella ISBN 9780142300480

- Little Red Riding Hood ISBN 9780140546934

Collect and share other books authored/illustrated by James Marshall, including:

- George and Martha ISBN 9780395199725

- Miss Nelson is Missing ISBN 9780395401460

- Fox on Stage ISBN 9780140380323

Collect, share and compare other versions of the three pigs story, such as:

- Big and Bad by Etienne Delessert ISBN 9780618889341

- The Three Pigs by David Wiesner ISBN 9780618007011

- The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka ISBN 9780670827596

- The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas ISBN 9780689505690

- The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell ISBN 9780873585422

Select one of James Marshall’s fractured tales and act out the story.

After reading several of Marshall’s fractured tales, try creating your own fractured tale based on another traditional folk or fairy tale.

Share James Marshall’s obituary from the New York Times. James Marshall - Obituary

Share a brief biography about James Marshall

*cover image borrowed from www.goodreads.com

Enjoy adding some fractured tales to your reading diet! 

Tastefully yours, 

~ Mandy :)