THE THREE HORRID LITTLE PIGS by Liz Pichon

Bibliography
Pichon, Liz. 2008. The Three Horrid Little Pigs. Wilton, CT: tiger tales. ISBN 158925077X

Plot Summary
The three pigs are bad, and the wolf is a kindly builder who just wants to help. Mama pig kicks out her three unruly children, and they are forced to live on their own. Each pig builds a house made out of straw, twigs, and a chicken coop by stealing their building materials from fellow animals. When the wronged animals rebel against the pigs, the three pigs make their way to the wolf's house built out of bricks. The wolf welcomes them, and the pigs mend their lazy ways.

Critical Analysis
This fractured fairy tale version of The Three Little Pigs twists the roles of the characters; the pigs are lazy and mean, and the wolf is kind. The pigs steal their building materials from other animals and react rudely to the wolf's kindness. This conflict between characters moves the story along quickly. In fact, time passes too quickly, and the pigs mend their lazy ways in the last three pages rather unrealistically. However, this goes in line with the happy ending that is expected from all fairy tales.

The story starts and ends in the classic way with "once upon a time" and "they all lived happily ever after." The illustrations complement the characters' images and portray the tension in the story by giving the pigs bad boy images, making the wolf's home warm and cozy, and portraying the anger and frustration of the animals being bullied by the pigs. An English tale told by an English woman, this story keeps its European feel, especially with the modern dress of the pigs.

My three year old does not care for this tale. This may have been because he is not familiar with the original story. I myself feel that the story ends too abruptly with the pigs suddenly having a change of attitude. I was hoping for something witty or some other twist. My daughter, on the other hand, likes it. She likes how the animals work together in the end to build a bigger house. However, she had difficulty with the moral of the story, in which I had to explain to her that it is about how kindness can win others over. Maybe this lesson could have been stated at the end of the story to explain the change in the pigs' behavior. She did get that it is a version of the original Three Little Pigs. 

Review Excerpts

• Booklist: "Children will enjoy the clever twist on a familiar story."
• Library Media Connection: "This picture book serves as another fine example of a fairytale twist that will be enjoyed by young readers."

Connections

• Read other versions or variants of The Three Little Pigs. Have children compare the stories to this one.
• Children can write and share their own version of The Three Little Pigs.
• Other fractured fairy tales:

           Bar-el, Dan. Such a Prince. ISBN 9780618714681
           Hale, Bruce. Snoring Beauty. ISBN 9780152163143
           Hoberman, Mary Ann. Very Short Fairy Tales to Read Together. ISBN 0316146110
           Wilcox, Leah. Falling for Rapunzel. ISBN 0399237941
           Hartman, Bob. The Wolf who Cried Boy. ISBN 0399235787