The Three Little Pigs Count to 100

September 7, 2015
Similar to her treatment of letters in The Three Bears ABC (2013), Maccarone blends the story of the Three Little Pigs with a counting lesson, adding in a primer on shapes and several nursery-rhyme references. Pistacchio (a pseudonym for Spanish artists Núria Aparicio and Joan I. Guardiet) illustrates the action in vibrant digital cartoons; the first pig purchases five bundles of straw from a leprechaun, while the second gets sticks from Pinocchio himself (it’s unclear whether they’ve been sourced from the puppet’s nose). The multiple educational elements laced into the story compete for attention somewhat, but it’s still an entertaining introduction to numeric, geometric, and fairy-tale basics: in one of the funniest sequences, Humpty Dumpty tries to persuade the third pig to build a house from eight bags of leaves, while Puss in Boots offers 10 pails of peanuts. Ages 4–7.