The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!

 

Title: The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!

Author: Jon Scieszka a.k.a. A. Wolf

Grade: 2-6

Genre: Fantasy

Sure we all know the story of the three little pigs...right? The first pig makes his house out of hay, the second makes his out of sticks and the last pig (the smart one) makes his out of brick, then the big bad wolf comes and blows all the houses down except the brick house and the pigs are all saved and they live happily ever after... right? But what if that wasn't the REAL TRUE story, what if the wolf wasn't so big and bad? What if he just had a really bad cold and couldn't control his sneezes? Have you ever feel like you were framed? If so then you know exactly how Alexander T.Wolf feels. 

Just remember there are two sides to every story, even in the three little pigs.

It starts off exactly that same way "Everybody knows the story of the three little pigs. Or at least they think they do... Nobody knows the real story, because nobody has ever heard of my side of the story." In my opinion this really gets the reader on the edge of their seats. To have a story told by the "big bad wolf" himself and found out maybe the three little pigs weren't so innocent and nice after all? The narrator (wolf) starts by explaining to the reader, how he has no idea why the big bad wolf thing got started.He then proceeds to give some background information such as "maybe its because of our diets... its not my fault that wolfs like to eat cute animals like bunnies, sheep's and pigs." which gets the reader to see his view (at least a little), then he really gets the reader to think when he says "If cheeseburgers were cute, folks would probably think you were big and bad, too" After reading that line, for me, it really got me thinking "wow this guy is right?" Once he gets you thinking and wanting to read more he then explains how it really never had to do with being big and bad but being a kindhearted and giving grandson; it all started with "a sneeze and cup of sugar." He explains through out the pages where the wolf was while the pigs were making there houses. Turns out the wolf was making a cake for his "dear old granny" as he was making his cake he realized he ran out of sugar and thought he would ask his neighbor...turned out his neighbor was a pig. So the wolf ask the first little pig for a cup of sugar and unbelievably the (hay house pig) turned out to be very rude and told him to go away, but just as he was going to walk away "he huffed and puffed and sneezed a great sneeze." The house came down and the pig was "as dead as a doornail" So the wolf did what he was taught to do,"never leave a good ham dinner lying there" so he did what anyone would do he ate it up. Next, he decided to go to the second house and wouldn't ya know it; it was another pigs house, stick house this time. When he got there the second pig was as rude as the first one and just as the wolf was walking away he felt a sneeze come on and well lets just say he got another ham dinner for lunch. Finally he tries the very last house and shock and surprise it was another pigs house and this little pig was extremely rude and said "Get out of here wolf and don't bother me again...and your old granny can sit on a pin" well the wolf "is usually a pretty calm fellow" but when someone says something about his granny he tends to go a little crazy. Well of course the cops showed up and saw "the big bad wolf" breaking down the door of the third pigs house and well the rest is history. See boys and girls truth is the wolf was framed!

I really love this story because it gets you to look at the other point of view for someone who is looked at as "big and bad" which turns out he wasn't so big and bad after all. I feel this is a great way to introduce point of view to the students, this can bring up questions within the social studies unit such as how do you think the Indian's felt when they got everything taken away? This could even get kids to role play the part and act it out. 

I feel every action the wolf did was consistent with his character he is a wolf and they do eat little cute animals, he did have a cold and was making a cake for granny, theses characteristics make him look very innocent. The way Jon has the pigs talk and the way Lane has the pigs look (the pig looks threw a little window with red angry eyes), gives you the impression these pigs; maybe weren't so innocent. Jon and Lane are such a great team. When it comes to Jon quirky way of spinning a fairytale and Lanes way of having the reader picture it, it works very well together. I really like how Jon makes the wolf look so innocent and sweet with the whole cold and granny's cakes, the pictures lane drew fit the profile perfectly he has the wolf in glasses with sad eyes a sweater, bow tie, and handkerchief up to his nose. Then the pigs are made to look almost evil especially the very last one as well as sound very rude. The pigs said some awefully rude remarks such as "Go away wolf you cant come in." 

I really like how Jon has the wolf say "what a pig" It really gets you to think wow maybe this story is true, three little pigs; maybe there's a reason why he called them pigs after all. I thought it was very clever for Lane to start off with the wolf being in jail telling his side of the story, then showing a cheese burger with bunny ears and rats tails in it to look like it wasn't that bad, and how he had a chalk board with exhibit a.sneeze and b.cup of sugar. This gets the readers to see visually what the wolfs thinking is. I also think it was a clever idea to make the words "This is the real story" in all different parts from the story like; pig snout, hay, the wolfs tail and sticks. The setting of the story stays in the same time but has different scenes from each house of the pigs. It never goes anywhere bizzare but follows the flow of the original story.

This story is definitely put in the fantasy genre because first off it has talking animals in it, second the characters have quality's people would have such as; they are dressed in clothes, you can go to a neighbors house to ask for sugar, and you can make a birthday cake. Other parts that make it fantasy is you really cant blow down a house with a "great big sneeze" also most people don't make there houses out of hay or sticks.

Jon makes sure the reader understand who is really big and bad and who was framed and innocent. He makes sure he has the wolf always asking for a cup of sugar but sticks with the original lines of "Mr.Pig, Mr.Pig are you there?" so it still has similar qualities of the first story. He also sticks to the story line of three pigs and three house made out of hay, sticks and brick. If Jon didn't explain how the wolf eats cute animals and questions you about a cheeseburger, he might of lost the reader when the wolf eats the pigs. Jon did this in such a clever way by saying "you cant let a ham dinner go to waste." Jon has the wolf portrayed as a wolf and innocent through out the whole story, for example the wolf just wants a cup of sugar (innocent) and also eating the pig, after it was dead (wolf instinct).

Jon really gets the reader to see how the wolf may LOOK guilty but also how looks can be deceiving. The very last page really seals the deal of how the wolf was framed the picture is the wolf in jail holding a pail and the caption says "but maybe you could loan me a cup of sugar". The last page also has the cop as a pig which really gets you thinking how if the pigs are in power, maybe he really was framed? I would use that and ask the question would you loan the wolf a cup of sugar? I feel the theme is very worthwhile for children because it tells them "dont judge a book by its cover" as well as "not everything is as it seems" and lastly "dont believe everything you hear and only half of what you see"

The MA Curriculum Frameworks that will be applied to this story is: 

RL 2.6 Acknowledge differences in the points of view of characters, including by speaking in a different voice for each character when reading dialogue aloud.
RL 2.7 Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.
RL 2.9 Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.