Wiesner opens his book with the words from the classic story of the three little pigs. However, the story quickly changes when the first pig is blown out of the story. He seeks out his brothers and rescues them from the wolf, instead taking them on an adventure through other pieces of literature. Ultimately, the pigs take several characters from other stories back to the brick house with them and they deal with the big bad wolf so they can live “Happily Ever After.”
Wiesner used a variety of types of artistic media to create this book. He used watercolor, gouache, colored inks, pencil and colored pencil. The variation in artistic media separates each of the nested stories from the larger framework of “The Three Little Pigs.” Different fonts are used for the story of “The Three Little Pigs”, the speech bubbles, “Hey Diddle, Diddle”, and the story of the dragon. On the last few pages, the font is scrambled to enhance the story. The dragon knocks some of the words out of his way when he pushes the door open, which reflects a deviation from the traditional text. On the last page, one of the pigs rebuilds the text to show that they characters live “Happily Ever After.” The illustrations reach out to the children since they are colorful and depict animal characters that the children can identify with. Further, the illustrations tease the mind and evoke a sense of wonder, which pulls readers into the story.
As mentioned above, the story combines several traditional texts to create a larger story. The various adventures form episodes that break the linearity of the text, in typical postmodern style. Without the illustrations, the reader would not understand the transitions between stories. The pigs physically exit the frames of the stories and move between them. A prime example of the illustrations’ importance occurs on the third page. The text says, “and ate the pig up,” however, the illustrations show that the first pig has been blown out of the story and the wolf is left standing with shrugged shoulders—obviously confused.
The pigs provide supplemental narration as they talk to each other and the reader, which draws the reader’s attention to the fact that they are reading a book, shattering the traditional tale’s ability to pull the reader into a story world. By having the pigs leave the story frames and talk to the reader and outside characters, the author makes the reader aware of the surrounding world, a common feature used in postmodern children’s books (Goldsone, 2004).
The most notable aspect of the illustrations from Wiesner’s book is the manipulation of space. The pigs actually leave the frames, they knock them over, and they fold one frame into an airplane for travel. As the plane flies off, there is a two-page spread with one blank page, and a small illustration on the other frame. It gives the reader a sense of possibilities and makes the reader wonder what will happen when the plane lands. Where will it land?
Other aspects of the illustration also provide additional insight into the story. The diagonal lines that are formed when the wolf blows down both the straw house and the stick house indicate a loss of control. This matches the first pig’s expression as he blown out of the story. The early pages of the book also have thick lines, which provide emphasis, possibly because it is the primary story framework. Once the pigs leave the story, thinner lines are observed. Wiesner manipulates perspective to influence the reader. Most of the book takes place in the middle ground. However, once the pigs are in air, the plane moves to the foreground, grabbing the reader’s attention, which prompts them to consider the possibilities that could manifest during the adventure. On the next page, the pigs have moved to the background, showing that they have moved away from the reader and began their journey. This also invites the reader to follow them. The majority of the book takes place in the middle ground.
The author leaves several gaps in the story that the reader must fill in using their perception of the illustrations. The most notable omission is the fate of the wolf. One page shows the dragon towering over the wolf and the next shows the dragon with a basket in his mouth. On the final page, the characters are surrounding a table with a pot of soup, tying back in with the traditional tale. Are they eating wolf soup? Or did they make a different dinner for themselves? It is up to the reader to decide.
I enjoyed this book because of the high level of adventure and they way it exercised my imagination. My favorite part of the book occurred when the pigs folded up a page from their story and turned it into a paper airplane, which they used to fly around to visit other stories. I wanted to join them on their adventure even though I did not know where they would go. It seemed that they were ready to have a good time.
This book received the Caldecott Award in 2002. The most notable feature of the illustrations was the manipulation of the story frame, in a postmodern style. In the speech Wiesner gave when he won the award, he explained, “ I was fascinated by the idea that behind the ‘normal reality’ lay this endless, empty, white nothingness.” Wiesner successfully showcased his wonder for his readers, evoking a deep curiosity for the way books and reality work.