James Marshall was one of the most prolific and successful author/illustrators of children's books. He was best known for his series on the mischievous exploits of Fox, a debonair, lazy showoff; the uproarious adventures of the two Cut-Ups, Spud and Joe; George and Martha; and the misadventures of the Stupidfamily. He divided his time between an apartment in the Chelsea district of New York and his home in Mansfield Hollow Connecticut.
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 (including Goldilocks and the Three Bears , a Caldecott Honor book). Deadpan as ever, Marshall begins this one in a traditional way: the old sow sends her piglets off into the big world. Despite the protests of the tradesmen who sell them materials, both the first and second pig construct their flimsy houses of straw and sticks. In short order, they are gobbled up by the wolf. The pig who invests in bricks, of course, does the gobbling when he encounters the wolf, after a merry mass of near misses that blithely build suspense. There are fairy tales, and there are Marshall's tales. Readers can also be forgiven for preferring his over all the rest. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
PreS-Gr 3-- Marshall brings his own brand of humor to both text and pictures in this retelling of the popular nursery tale . He retains the classic format of the tale, including all of the familiar phrases (``I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house in''), but his own asides make the story fresh and lively. For example, when the first little pig decides to build a house of straw, and the straw seller warns, ``That's not a good idea,'' he expresses just what all the worldly wise six- and seven-year-old readers will be thinking. Without a word of description, the colorful cartoon illustrations in ink and watercolor give the three pigs separate personalities. The lazy pig builds a house of straw which takes him ``no time at all,'' and the artistic pig, a stick house which is ``very pretty.'' The wolf, with his slouching posture and shifty, yellow eyes, looks just the sort of character who would lose his temper and jump down the chimney when force and tricks fail to capture the third little pig. 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. --Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
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