The Three Pigs

A Review of The Three Pigs by David Wiesner From Publishers Weekly

Even the book's younger readers will understand the distinctive visual code. As the pigs enter the confines of a storybook page, they conform to that book's illustrative style, appearing as nursery-rhyme friezes or comic-book line drawings. When the pigs emerge from the storybook pages into the meta-landscape, they appear photographically clear and crisp, with shadows and three dimensions. Wiesner's (Tuesday) brilliant use of white space and perspective (as the pigs fly to the upper right-hand corner of a spread on their makeshift plane, or as one pig's snout dominates a full page) evokes a feeling that the characters can navigate endless possibilities--and that the range of story itself is limitless. Ages 5-up.

I have to admit this story was not one of my favorites. It seems like a traditional story, but then the animals randomly jump out of the page. They then meander through various stories until they decide to go home and take a dragon with them. Huh? I didn't really get the appeal. The illustrations saved the book for me, with the jump from 2D to 3D type drawings it gave the pages depth. After the third or fourth read to various students and kids, it started to grow on me more. The kids sure seemed to like it more than I did. The boys were especially fond of the story and found it hilarious! It would be a must have because it was an award winner, but I personally didn't care for it.