"Three Little Pigs" retold by James Marshall

Three Little Pigs 
Author: Retold by James Marshall

Illustrator: James Marshall

Genre: Traditional Literature

Grade Level: Pre-k to 3rd grade 

Three little pigs are off to a fresh start. The three pigs go on about their way to build the house. The first pig finds a man with wagon full of straws. Despite the man suggestion, “That’s not a good idea”, the pig goes ahead and builds the house anyway. Along comes the hungry wolf who blows away the house and let’s just say the pig should have listened to the man. The second brother meets a man who has lots of sticks and offers to buy the sticks. The man warns “I’d think twice about.” Despite the warning, he makes a house out of sticks. the hungry wold manages to blow away the house, yet again. The second pig meets the same fate as the first pig. The third pig however meets a man who is carrying stacks of bricks. The man suggest the bricks would be perfect to build a house. The third pig agrees and builds a house which is “nice and solid.” The hungry wolf passes by the brick house and attempts to blow the house. Alas! he fails horribly and promises to come back again. The next day the wolf tries to lure the pig with a promise of delicious turnips. The pig tells him that he is busy but will surely meet him the next morning at 6. The pig outsmarts the wolf and arrives at the turnip farm at 5 instead. The wolf is disappointed but does not give up and suggest to pick up a few apples the next day. The pig outsmarts the wolf again which angers the wolf. The wolf attempts the last time to lure the pig out of the house. He invites the pig to the fair. The pig as always shows up an hour early but instead of leaving he carries on and enjoy the fair. The pig sees the wolf approaching him and quickly jumps inside a barrel. The barrel rolls down the hill which scares the wolf away. The wolf, all angry and hungry, shows up in front of the pig house and threatens to jump inside the chimney. The pig quickly sets the fire and boils a pot of hot water where the wolf jumps into. So in a strange twist of faith, it is not the pig that is eaten for dinner but instead the wolf is served!

Thoughts

A classic tale. I remember reading this book and really thinking to myself ‘never ever build a house with a straw.’ This is a great motivation story for Pre-K to 3rd grade. It teaches us about trust, making smart decision and listening to opinions. But the main point this story teaches us is if we work hard from the start, we will get a successful result at the end. This story also clearly provides different types of characters that is easily identifiable i.e. protagonist (good guy) and antagonist (bad guy). It is an excellent book to read to little kiddos.