Watch Out for Wolf!

August 16, 2019

PreS-K-This story combines elements of "The Three Little Pigs" and the "This Little Piggy" nursery rhyme. In a small stone cottage near the edge of a wood, five little piggies are very busy. Piggle bustles off to the market for cake supplies. Piggums and Piggleton work on the party decorations, including balloons, streamers, hats, and noisemakers. Piggit delivers invitations throughout the forest. Throughout the party preparations, the piggies continue to admonish each other to "Watch out for Wolf." When the wolf finally comes knocking on the door of the cottage, the piggies along with their forest friends are not frightened, but rather leap out screaming "Surprise!" Wolf is delighted by her three-layer cake, and she huffs, and puffs, and blows out all the candle in "one ferocious breath." (In fact, her huffing and puffing are so strong that she blows down one wall of the cottage!) Young children will enjoy the panicked expressions on the cartoon faces of the piggies and will be intrigued by the character of Wolf, who initially looks threatening, then appears joyous, and finally looks sheepish when she witnesses the destruction she has wrought on the cottage. VERDICT Children will enjoy the characters and the twist at the end of this fun read-aloud.-Sally James, South Hillsborough Elementary School, Hillsborough, CA

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2019
Five little piggies watch out for the wolf...but not for the reason readers might expect.Piggle, the first pig, sets out for the store to buy the ingredients for a cake. Piggleton, the next little piggy, stays home to wrap boxes and blow up balloons. Wolf is spotted outside, and the pigs inside quickly close the blinds. Third piggy Piggit hastens through the woods delivering invitations. Owl warns that Wolf has passed by recently. Piggums, the fourth little piggy, keeps lookout from the roof, and the smallest, Pigbert, cries: "Wee wee wee! Everybody hide!" Wolf arrives, and, as readers will have surely surmised, the pigs and other animals gathered within shout, "SURPRISE!" It's Wolf's birthday. The huffing and puffing is all aimed at candles. Rissi's conceit will be guessed by all but the youngest listeners long before the reveal. Santoso's colorful, soft-edged cartoon illustrations are pleasing if compositionally busy. The slightly muted palette depicts five expressive piggies who look far more distinct than their confusingly similar names would indicate. Both the baroque names and sophisticated compositions go to war with the transparency of the plot, making it hard for this book to reach its most natural audience of older toddlers just graduated from nursery rhymes.Readers' satisfaction at spotting Wolf here and there and guessing the twist might enhance the first read, but that may not be enough to have them demanding rereads. (Picture book. 2-4)

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February 25, 2019
All day, the pigs scurry around completing tasks. Piggle goes shopping for baking supplies and chocolate. Piggums stays home to blow up balloons and hang streamers, closing the shutters when a lupine shadow appears. Piggit speeds “from hutch to hole to burrow to nest,” writes Rissi, delivering invitations, while the owl hoots a warning: wolf is out. The pigs don’t want to cross her path, but not for the reason readers might expect. A gently subversive plot twist ends this story with cake and a surprise celebration, providing a funny resolution to the genuine sense of suspense conjured by Santoso’s richly colored, cartoonish illustrations of adorable little pigs in various states of wide-eyed panic. And any child who has struggled with a cake full of candles will admire the way the wolf “huffed... and puffed... and... blew the candles out in one ferocious breath.” Ages 3–5.