Book Review
Book Review
The
Three Little Pigs Reviewed by Vanessa Flores
1. Bibliography
Marshall, James. The Three Little Pigs.Ill.by James Marshall. New York: Scholastic
Inc., 1989. ISBN 059045781
2. Plot
Summary
This classic story is about three little
pigs that go off into the world. The first pig builds his home out of hay and
quickly settles in. Soon after a very hungry wolf comes and knocks on his door,
when the little pig does not let him in the wolf huffs and puffs and blows the house
down and quickly gobbles up the pig. The second little pig builds his home out
of sticks and quickly decorates it with bright colors. Soon after here comes
the hungry wolf and blows the house down and gobbles up the second little pig.
The third pig takes his time to build his home out of sturdy bricks and
decorates it very nicely. Soon after he sees a wolf loitering around his home
and decides to trick this wolf time and time again by making plans with him and
always arriving earlier. As the wolf becomes aware of the pigs tricks the wolf
decides to climb down the chimney to gobble up the pig but in reality it was
him in the end that becomes the main course.
3. Critical
Analysis
In this classic Beast tale, the author
tells a story of good versus evil while at the same time having a moral to the
story. As the reader opens the book to the title page we can foresee some of
the character traits of each pig. For example, there is one pig is being a lazy
by sleeping in the bed, while the other is showing his artistic and free spirit
through his painting and the last little pig is furthering his knowledge by
sitting reading a book. As the reader continues reading ,the illustrations help
depict the adventure these pigs will take. As the reader walks with them through
this story we encounter the impoliteness two of the pigs have when given some
feedback about their home. As they finish building their homes the impolite
pigs encounter the evil villain who is after one thing “a meal.” The pigs soon
realized their homes were not sturdy enough, especially to withstand the
huffing and puffing of the big bad wolf. Both pigs were eaten and maybe if they
would have been nicer, less arrogant and smart enough to learn from the
suggestions they were given then maybe they would still be alive. The last pig
demonstrates how thorough thinking, planning and great manners can keep you
living longer and happier.
4. Review
Excerpt(s) to fall in love with the detail drawn.
From School Library Journal- “Good stories can be retold endlessly, and Marshall's
inventive version of The Three Little
Pigs is an excellent addition for all library picture-book collections.”
From Publishers Weekly-“Readers who grin when they pick up this title can be
forgiven for correctly anticipating amusing antics within, especially if they
are familiar with Marshall's other half-fractured fairy tales.”
From Good Reads- “James Marshall, a
1989 Caldecott Honor winner for Goldilocks and the Three Bears, is witty and
wily once again as he enhances The Three
Little Pigs with ingenious details that will delight young readers.”
5. Connections:
Discover other versions
of The Three Little Pigs such as:
·
Gay,Marie-Louise.
The Three Little Pigs. ISBN 978-0888996398
Discover other books written
by James Marshall, such as:
·
Red Riding Hood ISBN
0140546936
·
Goldilocks
and the Three Bears ISBN
0140563660
·
Hansel and Gretel ISBN
0140508368
The following activities are
available to use as resources:
·
Extended teacher activity for this story is
available through Scholastic:
·
This book can be used to teach how to accept
feedback or suggestions. The following book will be great to help demonstrate
to a child what to do.
o
Cook, Julia. Thanks for the Feedback I Think .ISBN1934490490
Book Review
The
Three Little Tamales Reviewed by Vanessa Flores
1. Bibliography
Kimmel, Eric A. The Three Little Tamales.Ill.by Valeria Docampo. New York: Marshall
Cavendish Corporation, 2009. ISBN 9780761455196
This story begins in a small restaurant
in Texas, where three little tamales and some tortillas lived. One day the
tortillas decided to run away for fear they were going to be eaten. When the
three little tamales saw them running away, they decided to do the same. The
first little tamale built her home out of sage brush, the second little tamale
decided to make his home out of cornstalks and the third little tamale decided
to make her home out of cactus. But just when they thought they were safe a
“Big Bad Lobo” came and scared the first two little tamales out of their homes.
When he arrived at the last little tamales house, he was in for a surprise. The
little tamales had planned to make him into a tamale, but luckily he was able
to escape and was never heard or seen of again. To celebrate their good fortune
the little tamales had a fiesta inviting the tortillas who had once saved their
lives from being eaten.
The illustrations in this traditional
tale guide a reader to understand the cultural markers that reflect the
Hispanic culture. Page by page the reader walks through the emotions of the
three little tamales, with the help of their facial expressions they seem to
think they live a good life, until one day they are told they will be eaten if
they continue to stay at the restaurant. As they run away, they each find a
place they feel comfortable building their home in. The style of their language
is visible in the written use of the Spanish words, which capture the Hispanic
tone of these characters. The smartest
of the tamales is a female character that shows her intelligence in choosing a
great location and building material for her home. She foresees a possible
danger when she says, “the thorns will protect me.” Like most folktales this
story has a villain who tries to ruin their happiness by trying to eat them,
but the tamales band together to rid themselves of this evil character.
From School Library
Journal- “Kimmel has pulled the pork from "The Three Little Pigs,"
wrapped it in masa, and cooked up another traditional tale flavored with
Southwestern spice.”
From Kirkus-“ Her
tamales each have a stereotyped personality all its own: the mustachioed macho
brother, the pretty but not-too-bright sister and the smart sister who wears
glasses. A flavorful addition to the folktale shelf that begs to be shared with
a group.”
From Booklist- “Do
campo’s oil-on-paper illustrations add dimension to the story and bring the
three little tamales to life. An excellent addition to collections of
fairy-tale retellings.”
5. Connections:
Discover other Fractured
Fairy tales for children such as:
Discover other books written
by Eric A. Kimmel, such as:
·
Sopa
de cactus ISBN 9780761453444
·
The
runaway tortilla ISBN 189081718
6. The following activities are available to use as resources:
Listen to the story read by
the author:
Hispanic Culture activity:
·
Teacher can use this website to help teach
about the Hispanic culture. www.teacher.scholastic.com/activities/Hispanic
Spanish vocabulary activity:
·
Spanish words that appear in story are
available in a glossary inside the book. Teachers can make a foldable.
·
Kids can write each word and definition on an
index card and play the matching game.
Book Review
The
Three Pigs by Reviewed by Vanessa Flores
1. Bibliography
Wiesner, David.
The Three Pigs. Ill.by David Wiesner.
New York: Clarion Books, 2001. ISBN 9780618007011
2. Plot
Summary
The
Three Pigs is about three pigs who build their homes and a big bad
wolf comes and tries to eat them up, but they have another plan. As the wolf
huffs and puffs he blows the first little pig right out of the pages of the
book. As the wolf goes to each and every pig, the first little pig pulls the
other two out of the story and then all three of them fold the page the wolf is
in into a paper airplane and ride it into another folktale story. Landing in Hey Diddle, Diddle they meet the cat and
the fiddle and he follows the pigs out of the story. They leave this story and
go into a story having to do with a dragon that is going to be slain by a prince,
so the pigs encourage the dragon to leave. As they leave this story they come
across their page of the book and walk back into the story and continue where
they left off but little did the wolf know the pigs brought back help and they
all lived happily ever after.
Critical Analysis
This fractured fairy tale takes a whole
new look at the story of the three pigs. The author used the illustrations to
guide his unraveled version of the story. The realistic pictures of the animals
in the story bring the story to life with its unique style of a children’s
comic book version. By using the comment bubbles the characters are able to
take us through the story while the villain is trapped within the pages of the
story.
3. Review
Excerpt(s) to fall in love with the detail drawn.
·
2001-
Top 100 Picture Books #68
·
2001 - School Library Journal Best
Books of the Year
·
2002 - Caldecott Medal
·
2002 - American Library Association
Notable Books for Children
·
2002 - ABC Children's Booksellers
Choices Awards
From School Library
Journal- “Wiesner
demonstrated that pigs could fly. Here, he shows what happens when they take
control of their story.”
From Publishers
Weekly-“Wiesner’s
brilliant use of white space and perspective evokes a feeling that the
characters can navigate endless possibilities and that the range of story
itself is limitless.”
From Booklist- “This spectacular,
large-format edition has double-page-spread illustrations that resonate with
bold strokes and exuberant images of the moon as it prepares for its nightly
activities.”
4. Connections:
Discover other Caldecott
Medal Fairy
Tale winners:
·
Brown,
Marcia. Cinderella. ISBN 0689814747
·
Young,
Ed. Lon Po P: A Red Riding Hood Story
from China. ISBN9780698113824
Discover other books written
by David Wiesner, such as:
·
Sector
7, ISBN 0395746566
·
Flotsam,
ISBN 0618194576
·
Mr. Wuffles! SBN 0618756612
The following activities are
available to use as resources:
·
Have students create their own fractured
fairy tale using comic book strip handout.
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