What If-- I Were a Clown?: A Pretending Story

In this rhyming retelling of the popular story, a rainy day inspires the three pigs to build their homes of straw, wood and brick. When the wolf pounds on the door of the first pig's home, he calls to her: `""Oh, tasty pig, come out and meet me!'/ `No, never!' cried the pig. `You'll eat me!''' It isn't long before both she and the one who built a wooden house must join the third in his brick abode, where they scald the big bad wolf to death in a pot of boiling water. His tombstone is pictured in the last frame of the book. Bucknall's illustrations, in strong colors, show three very busy pigs and the snug details of their homes. But while her pigs are cute and stylized, that wolf means business, with sharp teeth, slathering red tongue and yellow eyes. His predatory role isn't comic, and is a jarring contrast to the carefree pigs. (3-7)