Nguyen Luc Luc itibaren Kongasis, Уґанда itibaren Kongasis, Уґанда

A traditional tale is told from a new point of view in a fun book for elementary readers, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Jon Scieszka’s version of this well-known folktale gives the wolf a chance to tell his side of the story that left him with the reputation of ‘Big and Bad.’ Illustrations by the unique artist Lane Smith magnify the already wonderful text in this book. From his jail cell, after being convicted of eating pigs and destruction of property, Alexander T. Wolf explains a version of The Three Little Pigs unlike any other. While going door-to-door to borrow a cup of sugar for his “dear old granny’s birthday cake” the wolf accidentally destroys a house a house of straw when he sneezes and eats the dead pig left in the rubble (Scieszka 1989, 5). Next, another sneeze ruins a straw house and provides the wolf another meal. At the house of bricks the third pig provokes the wolf to attack by insulting his granny, causing him to huff and puff until the police arrest him. Scieszka ends the story by stating that a slow news day caused for exaggeration in the wolf’s story and led to his jail sentence. A new traditional story, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs is well-written using point-of-view, humor, and simple language to engage readers. The author of other similarly written stories, Scieszka’s style of writing is entertaining, thought-provoking, and has a richness to it through his cleaver use of words. Great lines from the book include “It seemed like a shame to leave a perfectly good ham dinner lying there in the straw. So I ate it up. Think of it as a big cheeseburger laying there” on page 13 and “So they jazzed up the story with the whole ‘Huff and puff and blow your house down” on page 25 (Scieszka 1989). High quality illustrations by Lane Smith are one of the best parts of this book. Rich colors and depth added by shading results in intriguing artwork for each page of this book. Details in the illustrations extend upon the text, such as rabbit ears poking from under the wolf’s hamburger bun and a headline about Red Riding Hood on the front page of ‘The Daily Pig’ newspaper. Smith’s illustrations are not only interesting to look at, they tell a story on their own and are instrumental in making this book the popular, well respected work it is today. Scieszka and Smith created a book that will forever accompany the classic story of three pigs with The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Engaging text and excellent illustrations make this an essential addition to any library, a book reluctant readers will enjoy, and a great choice for read-aloud activities.