THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

Yet another retelling
of the classic fairy tale, updated for inclusivity and suitable for the board-book
set, if somewhat lacking in whimsy and magic.

The familiar fable of
the three little pigs is retold in simple language. This go-round, one of the
piglets is a she, offering girls a chance to place themselves in the narrative.
For the record, she’s the one who builds her house of sticks, so she’s slightly
less lazy than pig No. 1 but less practical and ambitious than pig No. 3. The
only visual suggestions of her gender are the frilled top of her overalls and
eyelashes, a feature the other two lack even though they are both mammals as
well. The storytelling is bare-bones; youngsters won’t be overwhelmed by the
amount of detail, but exposition is quite skimpy even so. As the story opens,
for example, the pigs bid their “mommy pig” and “daddy pig” farewell: “The time
had come for the three little pigs to leave home.” The statement begs to be
followed with, “… to make their homes and seek their fortunes,” but
caregivers will have to fill that in on their own. Although geared to the
audience, the lack of detail diminishes the fairy-tale quality of the story.
Even a “Once upon a time” would help immeasurably. The artwork is well-executed
but static, only really popping when the Big, Bad Wolf huffs and puffs. The
simultaneously publishing Pinocchio
is even more drastically stripped-down.