In The true story of the 3 little pigs by A. Wolf, Jon Scieszka rewrites the classic from the point of view from the fairy tale's antagonist. A. Wolf is the narrator of the satirical story. Scieszka creatively alludes to the classic with lines like "Little Pig, Little Pig, are you in?" and "...the hair on my chinny, chin, chin."
This may be a picture book, but it is designed for an older audience. Readers must have a good understanding of the original fairy tale. The humor in the book is absolutely great and catching the attention of the reader.
After reading this picture book for class, I decided to use it in my own sophomore English classes. They have been learning about point of view, voice, protagonist/antagonist and characterization. I felt as though this was a great book for both my collaboration class and my pre-AP English II class. We were able to have a true discussion on the misconception of the definitions of "protagonist" and "antagonist" as "good guy" and "bad guy" but as the main character and the opponent. The analysis of the book was at a very high level for both classes. The students discussed how an author can make readers pity the "bad guy" of a story, and if that bad guy is the Big Bad Wolf, the author succeeded in his purpose for writing.
Like most high school teachers, I did not see the value in using picture books in class; however, after using this particular book, I have changed my mind. It's a great way to quickly review concepts and adds some variety to the students' reading.
Some questions to ask: what other stories can be told from the antagonist's point of view? How does the point of view affect a story? How does a character's voice affect narration?
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