The Three Little Pigs (A Goodnight, Sleeptight Storybook, Grandreams, 1992/1995, ret. Grace De La Touche, illus. Pamela Storey)

The Three Little Pigs
Illustrated by Pam Storey
Story re-told by Grace De La Touche
© 1992 Grandreams Ltd. This edition published 1995.
Published by Grandreams Limited
Jadwin House, 205/211 Kentish Town Road, London NW5 2JU.
Printed in Italy.
ISBN 1-85830-012-6

This cute hardback retelling of The Three Little Pigs, illustrated by Pam Storey and retold by Grace De La Touche, was copyrighted to Grandreams in 1992, although my edition notes it was published in 1995. I'm not sure if this 1995 edition has any differences from the 1992 original. It was published as part of Grandreams' Goodnight, Sleeptight Storybook series, as part of a quartet alongside retellings of Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and Aladdin, likely in a boxed set, as all share the same ISBN.

For an overview of the Goodnight, Sleeptight Storybook collection, with links to my reviews of the other books in the series, see Goodnight, Sleeptight Storybook Series (Grandreams, 1990)

The inside of the front cover features an image of the three little pigs walking over a hill, framed by leaves, and with a mouse, butterfly and ladybird in the foreground. The title page features the little pigs dancing together inside another leafy frame, with publication details below. The story takes place over 20 pages, beginning on the back of the title page and ending on the inside of the back cover.

The story - retold by Grace De La Touche

The story begins "A long time ago and far away there lived a Mother Pig and her three sons." As the sons continue to get bigger, the mother essentially kicks them out (something some child readers might find distressing). She warns them to "[w]atch out for the Big Bad Wolf", and off they go. They part at a crossroads, and the story then follows each little pig in turn. 

The first little pig, described as the youngest one, "headed for the fields". He just wants to have fun, so he builds his house quickly out of straw and it's done in a day. The wolf comes along and blows down his house so he runs away.

The second little pig "headed for the woods", and he just wants to spend time looking around, so his house built of twigs and sticks is also done in a day. The wolf, having just failed to eat the first little pig, was also watching the second. The wolf blows down the second little pig's house, but he also runs away. He meets his younger brother at the crossroads and they head down the road their older brother had taken.

The third little pig "headed for the town", where he bought lots of bricks and cement, and then, "some way out of town, he built his new home." He wants to build a strong house so he can't be eaten by the wolf. The author notes: "The Little Pig's house was not built in a day, so he spent the night in a very comfortable hotel" – not a detail I've ever come across before!

When his house was ready, he moved in, and is immediately joined by his brothers. (It's not clear where they sheltered the previous night!). The third little pig "couldn't let the horrible wolf catch his young brothers" so he brings them inside and when the wolf comes knocking the brick house can't be blows down.

The wolf returns to invite the pig to go to the market with him, and then to an orchard (two side trips that are often elided from The Three Little Pig retellings). Finally, they see him bringing a ladder and the wolf comes to an end in the "huge pot of simmering water" at the bottom of the chimney. 

As retellings go, this one had one really surprising difference that I've never come across before – the hairy chin line was transferred from the little pig to the wolf:

"Let me in, Little Pig, let me in," said the Big Bad Wolf. "Or by the hair on my chinny chin chin, I'll blow your house down."

I don't think this could be an accident, and I can't find any other instances of this, so I'm assuming it was a deliberate choice to make this change. It was interesting, but for me it didn't really work, as I like the rhyming play between wolf and pig, especially when blow your house "in" is used to complete the rhyme.

Other than that surprise, several other points I found interesting were:

• ranging the brothers by age, so that the youngest wanted fun, the middle to explore, and the eldest was the sensible and responsible one – he is also protective of his younger brothers, and let's them stay with him "a little while longer, but then he sent them out into the world to build their own strong houses, just in case there was another Big Bad Wolf out there!"
• adding a crossroads, each road leading to different geographical features
• noting when they hear a knock on the door that they are alarmed because no-one knew where they lived yet
• having the oldest pig answer the wolf's request to go to the market with him with a polite "That would be very nice" – although the little pig has no intention to go to the market with the wolf, instead intending to trick him, I'd prefer a story that teaches children they don't have to politely agree to go along with a person that was just trying to do them harm.

The illustrations - Pam Storey

Storey's illustrations for this story are suitably cute for the intended audience, with cartoonish, jolly-looking cartoonish fat pigs in a cozy and sunny rural setting. The clothes are made up of stripes, polka dots, and chequers, and while the wolf looks crafty, there is nothing to scare here.

I enjoyed the comfortable illustrations. One thing to note (and this is presumably a publishing error) is that the formatting could have been a little better – in a few places the text is nearly obscured by the placement of the illustrations.

Detail from illustration in The Three Little Pigs showing placement of text obscured by illustrations, and the cute cartoonish pig and crafty wolf in a sunny rural setting