What Really Happened?

The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs!

Written by Jon Scieszka

Illustrated by Lane Smith

Harper & Row 1989

32 Pages

Traditional Literature

Everyone knows about the three little pigs, but has anyone ever wondered what really happened? This story follows Alexander T. Wolf as he tells his side of the story of the three little pigs. Alexander wants to set the record straight and clear his name. What do you think Mr. Wolf will say about what really happened to their houses?

The illustrations in this book remind me of a newspaper. Many of the fonts are headlines like those from a newspaper. They seem to be sketches and watercolors.

A lesson idea for this book could be second grade writing. I would ask the students to choose between the pig’s story or the wolf’s story and debate about why they believe it. I would have the students write a paragraph about their stance and then have them debate it in class.