Three Little Pigs

We've been reading retellings of the Three Little Pigs over the past few weeks.  I wouldn't have thought Spencer was old enough to enjoy that, but I read this article and felt inspired.  The Longmont library had a number of these books, and we requested others through the Interlibrary Loan service.  Since Spence is only 3, some of the stories were too advanced or too scary for this time through, and others were fantastic with minor editing.  The first few times we read an alternate story, he said, "this isn't how the story goes!"  But soon he was really into the concept that the wolf could be a hero or a villain, and the pigs could be innocent or naughty, and that the pigs could be javalinas, tamales or fish without losing the spirit of the story.  I think the idea of enjoying a story through several different viewpoint was very new to him, and I'm glad that we've done it.  It was also nice to be able to introduce the more involved elements of the story (wolf going down the chimney or not, pigs being eaten or not, the wolf taking the pig to the orchard, fair, etc. after the 3 house stands strong, etc.).  I'm not sure what story we'll tackle next - maybe the Three Bears, since he is familiar with that story and likes it?  Or maybe Cinderella, although a lot of Cinderella stories are too advanced for his age.  We'll see.

Books we've tried include:

• Alaska's Three Pigs - (Interlibrary Loan)  The three little pigs are homesteading in Alaska and frolicking in the snow, but their fun awakens a bear who is very hungry and irritable at being awakened.  One of the houses involves an igloo, which is fun, and the bear is neutralized in an interesting way.  None of the pictures should give you away if you change some of the details.  This was a fun one.
• Clancy and Millie and the Very Fine House - (Longmont Public Library collection) Clancy moves into a new home and meets a little girl named Millie.  They build amazing houses with moving boxes and play Three Little Pigs together.  This is a sweet book, and Spence really liked it.  They do build a train with boxes that runs all the way out into the street - that is, far into the street, past the sidewalk and well out onto the asphalt.  Spence wasn't sure why the kids were playing in the street, but it wasn't an upsetting detail.  (I told him that the movers had left the boxes there, not the kids.)
• The Three Horrid Little Pigs - (LPL) We edited this one just a little - deemphasizing the mother kicking the naughty pigs out of her house, emphasizing how wrong it is of the horrid pigs to steal straw and sticks and houses without asking permission, praising the wolf for wanting to help, etc.  Worth trying.
• Three Little Cajun Pigs - (IL) The dialect is too thick in this one.  We'll pass it up.  It is written in rhyme, and not one line is straight English, and that's too irritating to read and confusing to listen to.
• The Three Little Fish and the Big Bad Shark - (IL) This was another hit.  The shark does not munch on the actual fish.  He does lose his teeth after trying to eat his way through a sunken ship.  This was initially upsetting (Spence loves sharks), but my husband told him that shark teeth grow back, and I stressed how yummy the seaweed salad is that the shark is shown eating, and I also explained that he was trying to eat things that are not food.  (This is a frequent topic of discussion in our house right now.)  
• Three Little Gators - (IL) This one seems fine until the end, when the boar (stand in for the wolf) manages to get his rear barbequed.  The pictures of that are graphic and impossible to gloss over if that kind of imagery would be upsetting for your child, so I don't know that we will read this one together. 
• Three Little Hawaiian Pigs and the Magic Shark - (IL) The story is fun, the details are entertaining, and I think Spence liked it - but the pigs tie up the shark and toss him in the dump and then celebrate their triumph, and the pictures of the dump tossing are too specific for me to really be able to gloss over the details.  I ended up sticking the pages together and turning quickly, but Spence was still upset at why the shark "deflated."  I can't say that this was the hugest hit, but might be worth a reread, since the fishing and lifestyle described were so fun. 
• The Three Little Javalinas - (LPL) This one was a big hit.  It's a southwestern version of the 3 Pigs, with javalinas standing in for the standard pig, and the houses of tumbleweeds and cactus ribs and adobe are entertainingly different but still familiar.  This was the first version we read in which the coyote (standing in for the wolf) goes down the chimney and meets up with an unhappily singed tail/backside.  Everyone comes out of this one alive, though. 
• The Three Little Pigs - (LPL) We liked this one.  The first two pigs do get eaten, but the pictures aren't explicit, and you can skip that part if you want to.  At the end, the wolf tries to entice the third pig by inviting him to three locations (after his house stands up to being huffed and puffed).  This last part is a classic bit of the story, often left out, and the pig still outwits the wolf and ends up with a happily full pantry and a frustrated wolf.
• The Three Little Pigs - (LPL) We love David Weisner's work, but this one was too complicated to try to read with Spencer at his age.  Maybe when he is older.
• The Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale - (LPL) We love this one.  The modern and interesting houses and furniture are fun, the story is satisfying without being scary, and it includes the attempt to entice the pigs to the orchard, the fair, etc.
• The Three Little Pigs and the Fox - This might be a little too old for us right now.  The fox imprisons the older two pigs, and the baby sister (Hamlet) has to save them by trickery.  But the older pigs are shown being locked into a basement/shed, and the sister is shown being frightened and trying to physically hold the fox out of her house.  All goes well in the end, so maybe when Spence is older. 
• Three Little Tamales - (LPL) We have read this one again, and again, and again, and eaten tamales in its honor.  It's a definite hit.  The houses of sage and cactus and cornstalks are interesting, the tamales have a fun character, and the wolf tries to come down the chimney.  In this one, the tamales threaten to make the wolf into wolf tamales and eat him, and he runs away.  We edit that part a bit.
• The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig - (LPL) Interesting story, and fun to see the three sweet little wolves frolicking and the mean pig who destroys their houses.  He really does destroy the houses, though, starting with a jackhammer and ending with dynamite.  It has a change-of-heart happy ending that we enjoyed.  The picture of the dynamited bunker of a house was initially upsetting. 
• Three Pigs, One Wolf and Seven Magic Shapes - (IL) This is an interesting book that introduces some math concepts.  It also includes the wolf eating the first two pig siblings, so we may wait to read this one.  I did like it enough to buy it on Amazon, though (where it is very cheap).
• The True Story of the Three Little Pigs - (LPL)  Funny and entertaining.  The BBW blows down houses due to his bad head cold, and loses his temper with the third little pig when the third pig insults his sweet old granny.  (You will recognize her picture as the wolf from Little Red Riding Hood.)  He does eat the first two pigs.  I didn't edit this one - I wanted to see how that would go over - and it was fine.  It might be a little over the head of a 3-year-old, but it is still fun.
• Three Swingin' Pigs - (IL)  This was interesting, but apparently it is the uncles of Ella, Satch and Mo who originally had a run in with the wolf, so Spencer was confused about why there were no houses to be built or blown down.  The three pigs in this case are popular musicians, and they team up with the wolf (and cure his halitosis).  Rather than get eaten or blown away, they make music (and records).  Spence seemed unsure but also kept singing Ella's scat ditty, so I guess it is a hit.  It tries a little too hard to be hip.
• Where's the Big Bag Wolf - (IL) Another hit.  An intrepid dog detective tries to find out why that suspicious sheep is hanging out around the three little pigs all the time, and why the Big Bad Wolf is trying so hard to pretend to be sick and unable to hunt pigs.  Spence loved feeling smarter than the dog detective and caught the visual cues as to what was really going on before the story revealed it.  There is a nice side theme about listening to your wiser elders (in this case, elderly cows) and a fun implication that the wolf will continue trying to trick the pigs, but the cows and dog will continue to protect them from their naivete.

If there are other Little Pig options, I'd love to know about them!  I think the downloadable options here are interesting to supplement, but I haven't printed any of them out or used them yet.  Any other suggestions are also welcome.