Great retelling of the Three Little Pigs for beginning readers. Images are well done. This version is great for beginning readers and for older students who may be interested in creating their own versions of folktales! Extremely accessible. ( )

I enjoyed reading this book. It is a wonderful story and one of the most popular traditional literature/fantasy stories. I liked that the words said what was happening on the pages and also I enjoyed the emotions shown in the pictures. First, the words definitely exemplified what was happening on the pages. For example, on page 4, "The first pig built a cozy house of straw." The picture shows a pig building a straw house. Next, on page 8, "But the big bad wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down." On this page, there is a picture shown where the big bad wolf is blowing down the house that was made of sticks. Next, I enjoyed the emotions that were shown in the pictures. I think it added more emphasis, excitement and a feeling of anticipation to the story. For example, on page 11, "The big bad wolf huffed and puffed and huffed and puffed. But he just could not blow the brick house down." In the picture that accompanies these words, you can see the three little pigs inside of the brick house, through the window, and can tell that they are happy and feel safe. This interpretation is supported because the pigs were smiling and looking outside at the wolf, who was frustrated because he could not blow the brick house down. Also, on page 5, it says, "But the big bad wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down." This quote was referring to the first house that the wolf blew down, the one made of straw. In the picture accompanying this quote, you can tell the pig is scared because he has a frantic look on his face and is wrapped around a pole in the middle of the straw house, thinking he may be more safe there.

The big idea/main message of the story is that hard work pays off and takes time. For example, the first two pigs rushed to build their houses. The last pig who built the brick house took his time and it paid off because the wolf was unable to blow his house down. In the end, the other two pigs came to the third pig who built the brick house because they felt safer and knew the wolf was not going to hurt them there. Next time, those pigs will realize that patience is key and that successful things take time to achieve. ( )

I enjoyed reading this book. It is a wonderful story and one of the most popular traditional literature/fantasy stories. I liked that the words said what was happening on the pages and also I enjoyed the emotions shown in the pictures. First, the words definitely exemplified what was happening on the pages. For example, on page 4, "The first pig built a cozy house of straw." The picture shows a pig building a straw house. Next, on page 8, "But the big bad wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down." On this page, there is a picture shown where the big bad wolf is blowing down the house that was made of sticks. Next, I enjoyed the emotions that were shown in the pictures. I think it added more emphasis, excitement and a feeling of anticipation to the story. For example, on page 11, "The big bad wolf huffed and puffed and huffed and puffed. But he just could not blow the brick house down." In the picture that accompanies these words, you can see the three little pigs inside of the brick house, through the window, and can tell that they are happy and feel safe. This interpretation is supported because the pigs were smiling and looking outside at the wolf, who was frustrated because he could not blow the brick house down. Also, on page 5, it says, "But the big bad wolf huffed and puffed and blew the house down." This quote was referring to the first house that the wolf blew down, the one made of straw. In the picture accompanying this quote, you can tell the pig is scared because he has a frantic look on his face and is wrapped around a pole in the middle of the straw house, thinking he may be more safe there.

The big idea/main message of the story is that hard work pays off and takes time. For example, the first two pigs rushed to build their houses. The last pig who built the brick house took his time and it paid off because the wolf was unable to blow his house down. In the end, the other two pigs came to the third pig who built the brick house because they felt safer and knew the wolf was not going to hurt them there. Next time, those pigs will realize that patience is key and that successful things take time to achieve. ( )

Summary-
The three little pigs is a story about three little pigs who build houses but the big bad wolf wants to eat them. He tries to huff and puff each little pigs home.

Personal reaction-
The three little pigs is story I've heard and read myself hundreds of times. It was a cute book and Findley did a great job telling the traditional story. The pigs in the illustrations were creepy. I also liked that the book had a glossary at the end of it, which would be helpful for kids.

Classroom Extensions
1. Build houses out of craft material
2. Write a letter to the wolf because he is in jail after destroying the pigs homes.

Summary:
The Three Little Pigs is a story about three pigs who were building its houses out of different types of material and a wolf who liked to eat pigs. The first pig built his house out of straw. The second pig built his house out of sticks. The third pig built his house out of bricks. Each pig believed its house was the strongest. The wolf’s favorite saying to the pigs was, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down.” Since each pig believed its house was built strong enough to withstand anything, they were not afraid of the big bad wolf. The wolf began to huff and puff and it blew the straw and stick house down. The two little pigs ran away from the wolf until they reach the third little pig’s house. The three little pigs were not afraid of the wolf as long as they were inside of the brick house. Once the wolf found the pigs at the brick house, it again began to say, “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down. The wolf tried and tried but the house remained standing. The wolf decided it would climb down the chimney to get the pigs. As the three little pigs were cooking a pot of stew on a fire inside of the fireplace, they anxiously invited the wolf to come down the chimney to try to eat them. As the wolf went down the chimney it fell directly into the pot of stew burning his bottom. The wolf ran away and never bothered the pigs again.

Personal Reaction:
I really liked this traditional literature book because I never read a retelling of the Three Little Pigs like this before. I did not know the ending of this retelling would have the pigs waiting on the wolf to fall down the chimney to get burned by the hot pot of stew. The illustrations by Keiko Motoyama were colorful and vibrant and made the story easy to follow. Out of all the versions of the retelling of this book, this is the funniest one I have ever read. I would love to use this version in my classroom.

Classroom Extension
Ideas:
1.) Divide the students into groups of four and allow them to build houses that the wolf can’t blow down. Ask one of the students in the group to be the wolf who will use a blow dryer to try to blow each house down. This activity can be used as a science experiment using the steps of the scientific method. The hypothesis could be as simple as, “Which house do you think the wolf not be able to blow down?”
2.) Each student can make a personal pocket chart to retell the story to their parents. The students can cut out their pigs, houses, and wolf and word phrases.
3.) The class can put on a skit portraying the story of The Three Little Pigs to present to a neighboring class. ( )