The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf
This fractured version of the familiar nursery tale opens with a farmer and his wife selling their farm, paying their three pigs “for their good work,” and sending them off into the world. While the first two pigs build cheap houses of straw and sticks, the third builds herself a brick house. Huffing and puffing, a hungry wolf comes by and blows down the first two homes, but he hyperventilates and passes out at the third. The three pigs revive him, feed him, and take in their now-amiable adversary. Trading in the original story’s sense of justice for the notion that villainy can be cured by a good meal seems a bit off-track, even for a fractured tale. Still, children will enjoy the humor here, including the wolf’s bemused “I can’t believe that worked!” after he blows the straw house down. Animated with drama and deadpan wit, Teague’s large-scale oil paintings show up very well from a distance, making this a good story-hour choice. Preschool-Grade 1. --Carolyn Phelan