Book Review: THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG by Eugene Trivizas

Bibliography
Trivizas, Eugene. 1993. THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG. Ill. by Helen Oxenbury. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN: 979-0-689-81528-7

Plot Summary
THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG is a variant of The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf except the character roles are reversed. The three little wolves set out on their own and decide to build a house made of bricks. Once it is completed, the big bad pig comes along to "huff and puff" their house down. When that didn't work, the pig smashes it down with a sledge hammer. The wolves build their next two houses out of even stronger materials, and still the big bad pig manages to knock their house down. Finally the three little wolves build their house out of flowers. The big bad pig comes around to knock it down, but instead the flower's scent changes the big bad pig into the big GOOD pig. The three little wolves and the pig live together happily ever after.

Critical Analysis
This is a charming variant of the three little pigs classic tale. The character roles have been reversed and it seems like the three little wolves are a tad smarter then the three little pigs. The wolves start out by building their house out of strong materials. The plot and the theme of THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES is the same as the original story, but the ending is happy for both the pig and the wolves. I think this story is enjoyable to adults and children, except the story is more fun if the original is known. For example the surprise of the big bad pig blowing up the little wolves' house does not have same effect if the original "huff and puff" story is not  familiar.
Also, the illustrations were big and took up a lot of the space on the pages. This captures the readers' attention. The illustrations also helped move the story along and add drama to the story.

Review Excerpts
*A BOOKLIST Editors' Choice
*A SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL Best Book
*A PARENTS' Choice Honor Book

Connections
For children who have not read the original tale,I would suggest reading the Three Little Pigs first so they have a platform for THE THREE LITTLE WOLVES AND THE BIG BAD PIG. As an arts and crafts project, children can make their own flower pinwheel out of colored paper. This way they can show their parents how they can too huff and puff.