The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith (Penguin Books 1989) | Image © 1989 by Lane Smith

“Up in the hills above the farm
Lives a pack of wolves
Never did no harm
Sleep all day
Hunt till four
Maybe catch a couple of rodents
You know, carnivore”

— Paul Simon - 'Pigs, Sheep and Wolves'

Last week I wrote in support of Booktrust’s bath, book, bed campaign - a routine that we set in place for our sons when they were growing up. Looking back, I remember bathtime itself was often filled with stories.

Picture books were often shared; then as they grew older, chapter books. And during our bathtime games, many fantastical narratives were made up on the spot by father and sons. 

Don’t underestimate the value of playing these imaginary games with children. As well as being fun and creating bonds, the skill of storytelling is being learned. 

Here’s an example, pulled from a sketchbook, of a story told during bathtime by Noah. It’s his adaptation of those familiar fairy tale characters, the Big Bad Wolf and one of the Three Little Pigs. Noah’s imagination was off the clock - he was so much fun to be around and was frequently ‘in character’ as someone else. During this phase, he enjoyed pretending to be a little pig (‘Pid’). My role? The Big Bad Wolf (a.k.a. The Big Bad Woof). 

 

© 2002 by Tim Warnes

 

Noah had just turned three at the time, and unable to read or write. But boy could he tell a story!

(Which revisits an earlier head-scratcher: What makes an author?)

Noah’s empathy for the wolf (generally the bad guy in kids’ eyes) is touching. Our Little Pid/Big Bad Woof games were undoubtedly inspired by this week’s Good to Read recommendation (and an old favourite of ours): The True Story Of The 3 Little Pigs!

 The True Story Of The 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith (Penguin Books USA, 1989) has been going strong since its publication over thirty years ago.

Then, as now, the book’s art style and design made it stand out from the pack. But Scieszka’s text was rejected numerous times before a publisher was found who was prepared to commit. They had yet to discover that children enjoyed and understood irony and pithy humour - which is what Scieszka (America’s inaugral Ambassador for Reading) has become known and loved for. The book was borne out of Scieszka’s passion for reimagining old, familiar stories. At the time, he taught at an elementary school:

 

“I love the oldest tales – myths, fables, legends, fairy tales,” Scieszka said. “And I love an unreliable narrator. I also loved that my 2nd graders’ response to almost any question I would begin to ask them was, ‘I didn’t do it.’ So having the wolf tell his side of the story combined all those loves.”

- Revisiting The Childhood Classic 'The True Story Of The 3 Little Pigs!' 30 Years Later

 

The character of the wolf is skilfully displayed through his voice:

 

Nobody knows the real story, because nobody has ever heard my side of the story. … The real story is about a sneeze and a cup of sugar.

- Alexander T. Wolf

 

As he goes on to explain how he was making a birthday cake for his dear old granny, the wolf shares two crucial facts:

He had a terrible sneezing cold.

He ran out of sugar.

 

So I went next door to ask if I could borrow a cup of sugar. 

Now the guy next door was a pig.

And he wasn’t too bright, either.

He had built his whole house out of straw.

Can you believe it? I mean who in his right mind would build a house of straw?

 

I just love the tone of Scieszka’s writing! It’s great fun to read aloud, and opens up all kinds of possibilities for the young listener/reader.

 

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith (Penguin Books 1989) | Image © 1989 by Lane Smith

 

So of course the minute I knocked on the door, it fell right in. I didn’t want to just walk into someone else’s house. So I called, “Little Pig, Little Pig, are you in?” No answer.

 

Scieszka sets the narration up so beautifully - it reminds me of how standup comics drop in critical yet seemingly arbitrary details to set up their punchlines. Remember the wolf’s terrible sneezing cold?

 

That’s when my nose started to itch.

I felt a sneeze coming on.

Well I huffed.

And I snuffed.

And I sneezed a great sneeze.

 

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith (Penguin Books 1989) | Image © 1989 by Lane Smith

 

The rest, as they say, is history. See how plausible this is?! 

Wolf sneezes.

Poorly constructed house collapses.

Pig found dead in the remains.

Ah yes, that foolish pig…

 

It seemed like a shame to leave a perfectly good ham dinner lying there in the straw. So I ate it up.

 

But the wolf still doesn’t have his cup of sugar. So he goes to the next house, that of the First Little Pig’s brother, who ‘was a little smarter, but not much.’

He had built his house of sticks - and the same fate befalls him.

And as we all know, the Third Little Pig had wisely built his house of bricks. But in this version of the tale, Pig #3 (who is selfish and rude) insults the wolf’s dear sweet old granny. As the wolf explains, ‘when somebody talks about my granny like that, I go a little crazy.’

 

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith (Penguin Books 1989) | Image © 1989 by Lane Smith

 

When the cops drove up, of course, I was trying to break down this Pig’s door. And the whole time I was huffing and puffing and sneezing and making a real scene.

 

True to form, journalists jazz up the story to create the legend of the Big Bad Wolf.

Scieszka summarises it neatly with this tantalising invitation on his website: ‘Read and learn. Then decide for yourself - Big Bad Wolf . . . or media frame-up?’

 

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka, illustrated by Lane Smith (Penguin Books 1989) | Image © 1989 by Lane Smith

 

[The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs] is a kind of revisionist history ... told by one Alexander T. Wolf, who wants it to be known that the standard version of the story is filled with half-truths, dissemblance, hypocrisy, pseudology and slander. He endeavors to set the record straight, and … does an admirable job of it.

–Frank Gannon, The New York Times, November 12, 1989

 

Aside from Scieszka’s delicious narrative, I love this book for the art by Lane Smith. His style, though varied, is instantly recognisable by the simple designs, collage elements and delicate textures created by ‘layer after thin layer of oil paints,’ explains Smith, ‘sprayed with a water-based varnish and blown dry with a hairdryer while the paint and varnish are still wet. The oil and varnish react to one another, separate, and dry as sponge-like, stippled, textures.’

Smiths illustrations are often dark, in both style and content (Son 2, Levi, found his work a bit too creepy). But Noah enjoyed details like the visionary wolf burger with paws and ears poking out! From an artistic point of view, I valued Smith’s as part of the boys’ early visual education.

A youth specialist from the New York Public Library praised Scieszka’s ability to tell a tale that kids find hilarious, while simultaneously triggering more profound thoughts (how many kids will sympathise with the wolf’s reaction to the pig’s granny insults?)

Teachers, meanwhile, value the parody of True Story, which encourages empathy and creativity. It shows kids that ‘it’s okay to take a familiar storyline and riff off of it gets their creative writing juices flowing.’ This idea of interpreting a story from different perspectives is a point worth dwelling on. We live in a world of fake news, accusation and denial. Opinions are becoming increasingly polarised - so teaching children the skills to interpret information from different perspectives has tangible value. 

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! is a great, fun place to start learning. Snuggled up with someone who loves them and wants to share the jokes? Even better!

A note on Paul Simon’s song, Pigs, Sheep and Wolves: I suspect he may have been influenced by The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! - it certainly reflects the premise: the pigs are the bad guys, and the wolf is framed. It’s entirely feasible that the story was brought to the songwriter’s attention since True Story begins,

 

I’m the wolf. Alexander T. Wolf.

You can call me Al.

 

Take a listen here (I love it):

 Provided to YouTube by Sony Music Entertainment Pigs, Sheep and Wolves · Paul Simon You're The One ℗ 2000 Sony Music Entertainment Dobro: Mark Stewart Drums: Steve Gadd Arranger: Wynton Marsalis Percussion: Jamey Haddad Percussion: Steve Shehan Electric Guitar: Vincent Nguini Bass: Bakithi Kumalo Auto-generated by YouTube. Good to Read

Some other great books by Scieszka and Smith (Wolf’s honour)

The Stinky Cheese Man and other Fairly Stupid Tales (Viking 1992)

Squids Will Be Squids (Viking 1998)

SourcesThe True Story Of The 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka, ill. by Lane Smith (Penguin Books 1989)Sheep, Pigs, Wolves by Paul Simon (paulsimon.com)Revisiting The Childhood Classic ‘The True Story Of The 3 Little Pigs!’ 30 Years Later by Fernando Alfonso III - Forbes (Apr 22, 2019)Jon Scieszka Worldwide CHILDREN'S BOOKS; EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE SWINE By Frank Gannon (New York Times, Nov. 12, 1989) Why Kids Say They Love Fairy Tales By Kari Ness Riedel (Brightly.com)