THE TRUE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

THE TRUE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

Publisher: Puffin Books; 32 pages; ISBN: 978-0140544510

THE classic fairy tale of the three pigs (who looked down their snouts at sty-living) is re-told by the wolf (Alexander T. Wolf) who, if he’s to be believed, was just a victim of circumstance.

For a start, he was not stalking pigs, simply trying to borrow a cup of sugar. And can you blame him if a bad cold resulted in a sneeze powerful enough to bring a house crashing down? (I wonder if Alex Wolf is also given to wearing nighties and impersonating grandmothers!)

THE STINKY CHEESE MAN AND OTHER FAIRLY STUPID TALES

THE STINKY CHEESE MAN AND OTHER FAIRLY STUPID TALES

Publisher: Viking Children’s Books; 56 pages; ISBN: 978-0670063000

SCIESZKA parodies favourite fairy tales and storybook characters like Little Red Riding Hood (Little Red Running Shorts) and the Gingerbread Man (the Stinky Cheese Man). Instead of the sky, it’s the book’s table of contents that Chicken Licken thinks is falling. In the meantime, Red Running Shorts finds out what’s in store for her at Grandma’s cottage and refuses to participate in her story! In 1993, this book won The New York Times’ best illustrated book award and was a Caldecott Honor book.