The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig by Eugene Trivizas

As the title may hint to, this folk literature picture book is similar to the story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. After being warned by their mother of the big bad pig, the three little wolves decide to build a house together. The wolves use bricks that they bought from a kangaroo to build their first house. Soon, the big bad pig comes by and tries to blow their house down, but when he does not succeed, he goes and gets a sledgehammer to finish the job. The wolves build a second house made of concrete and a third out of iron bars, barbed wire, armor plates, and heavy metal padlocks. Despite what they thought to be tough materials, the big bad pig uses a pneumatic drill and dynamite, respectively, to destroy the houses. Finally, the three little wolves decide to build a house of flowers. However, unlike the other houses they built, the big bad pig did not destroy this house. Instead, this house started a friendship among the three little wolves and the big bad pig. I read this story to my students at Swift Creek Elementary during a guided reading lesson. They were learning about different perspectives and I believe this book does a great job of putting the well known story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf into a new perspective. In addition, I feel that this book could be used to demonstrate to students that sometimes what we think is best in a situation may not be. Finally, I feel that this book could teach students that people/characters can indeed change (for the better or worse).