The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

Scieszka, J. & Smith, L. (1989). The true story of the 3 little pigs. New York. Puffin Books.

This story is twist on the classic tale of the three little pigs as seen through the wolf's eyes. According to the wolf, we've got the story all wrong. In Scieszka's version, the story is retold with wolf as the unlucky protagonist, meaning he is the main character who is portrayed as the hero. The wolf, merely wanting a cup of sugar, visits the homes of the three little pigs without the intention of eating them. Simply wanting to bake a cake for his grandmother, the wolf accidently destroys the homes and lives of the pigs, who are surprisingly rude, by sneezing. I won't give away the ending of this story but I love how Scieszka stays true to original components of the story while providing a humorous outcome. For example, one of my favorite parts occurs when the wolf visits the pigs home made of sticks. Upon knocking on the door, the second pig refuses to help the wolf because he is busy shaving the hairs on his chinny chin chin.
     Even though this story is a picture book, it has great applications for the classroom setting and can used to teach several different mini lessons at multiple grade levels. The more obvious lesson that can be taught is point of view,  or the perspective from which the story is narrated. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs can be paired with reading The Three Little Pigs and can serve as a compare/contrast activity between the different view points. This could also serve as addtional writing activity for older students in which they have choose which viewpoint they like best and present an arguement for their choice.
     I could definitely see myself using this in a middle school classroom and would reccommend it to other middle school teachers. As a special education teacher who works with students with behavior disorders,  I can also see myself using this a social skills lesson. I could use both versions of this classic story to show my students that things/people aren't always what they seem and that you should not "judge a book by its cover".  Below are some of the middle grade level standards I feel this story could align with:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.6 Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.6.7 Compare and contrast the experience of reading a story, drama, or poem to listening to or viewing an audio, video, or live version of the text, including contrasting what they “see” and “hear” when reading the text to what they perceive when they listen or watch.


I hope you find this post helpful!