The Three Little Pigs
In this telling of the classic story, a mother pig sends her three sons out into the world to seek their fortunes. The first little pig makes a house of straw, the second builds a house of sticks, and the third constructs a brick house. The wolf blows down the first two homes but, foiled by smoke pouring from the third pig’s chimney, he runs into the forest and is never seen again. The third pig brings his mother and brothers to stay in the sturdy brick house. The text reads aloud well and, though some will miss the rough justice of the traditional version, many parents will appreciate that the pigs and even the wolf escape in the end. There is plenty of dramatic action in the line-and-watercolor artwork, which depicts the countryside in autumn as warmly lit and full of small animals observing and reacting to events and living their own intriguing lives. A fine picture-book version of a favorite nursery tale. Preschool-Grade 1. --Carolyn Phelan