Wednesday, July 22, 2020

79. The True Story of The 3 Little Pigs

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. Jon Scieszka. Illustrated by Lane Smith. 1989. 32 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Everybody knows the story of The Three Little Pigs. Or at least they think they do. But I'll let you in on a little secret. Nobody knows the real story, because nobody has ever heard my side of the story.

Premise/plot. A. Wolf (the narrator) wants readers (like you and me) to know the TRUTH. He is not a BIG BAD WOLF. He's not. Here's why: he was simply going to his neighbors' to ask for a cup of sugar. Why? Well, it was all for the best of causes: his dear granny's birthday cake. True, his neighbors all happened to be PIGS. But his intention was for SUGAR, AND SUGAR ALONE. It's not his fault that he had a cold and that his POWERFUL SNEEZES took out the first two pigs' houses. And it's not his fault that the pigs he found within the collapsed houses were DEAD. Perhaps it wasn't neighborly to EAT them after he found them dead. But it was the natural thing to do--he is a wolf, and pigs are tasty. He asks readers to trust his side of the story. Do you?!

My thoughts: This one is fun, fun, super-fun, just a true delight to read and reread. I've read it plenty of times since it was first published in 1989, but, this is the first time I've reviewed it. If you haven't read it yet, you should! You're never too old to pick this one up.

Text: 5 out of 5
Illustrations: 4 out of 5
Total: 9 out of 10

© 2020 Becky Laney of Young Readers

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