Wondering About Wolves

 Wolves live in children’s literature. What children learn about wolves from The Three Little Pigs depends on which version of the story they read.

The mother in James Marshall’s 1989 The Three Little Pigs doesn’t warn her three children to watch out for the wolf. When the wolf shows up at the houses of straw and sticks, his intention to eat the inhabitants is only implied. What a surprise it is when he eats them both! The remaining pig engages the wolf in lengthy negotiations. This pig knows the wolf is looking for dinner, but readers must infer this. In the end, the pig eats the wolf. This story seems to champion survival of the most well-informed and cagey. 

Also in 1989, William H. Hooks publishes The Three Little Pigs and The Fox. It’s Illustrated by S.D.Schindler. Here a fox substitutes for the wolf. This mama warns her children about the “mean, tricky old drooly-mouth fox”. Yet, it captures two and shuts them away for a forthcoming meal. The third pig outwits the fox, traps him in a butter churn, and sends him down river.  She searches all around Rattlesnake Holler and finds her brothers locked up in the fox’s den. No one eats anyone else, and the fox relocates.

Eugene Trivizas and illustrator Helen Oxenbury team up in 1993 for The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig. They flip the script in more ways than one. Mother wolf warns her pups about the big bad pig. The wolves aren’t the bad guys, and these siblings stick together. They begin by building a house of bricks all three of them will live in. When the big bad pig can’t blow it down, it succeeds with a sledgehammer. The violence escalates to destroy the second and third houses. The wolves build a fourth house; this one made of flowers. When the pig huffs and puffs, he’s transformed by the flowers’ beautiful scents.  “His heart grew tender, and he realized how horrible he had been. Right then, he decided to become a big good pig.” A bad pig can instantly see the light given the right stimulus.

In 1997, Steven Kellogg expands upon the theme of family in his The Three Little Pigs. His revision features a single mother who builds a business selling waffles. Mama leaves town, and the three pigs stay put to carry on  a successful family business. The wolf, Tempesto, is visually and vocally obvious. He doesn’t want waffles; “‘I want YOU!’” he growls. The pigs call for help and mama returns to save the day. Tempesto jumps down the chimney of the brick house right into the waffle iron—and surrenders! He retires to the Gulf of Pasta because “the waffle iron had steamed the meanness out of him.” Is this a defense of physical punishment?

David Wiesner’s The Three Pigs (2001) tears the story to pieces–literally. The familiar text does not match the illustrations. The wolf comes knocking and blows down the houses made of straw and sticks. The narrative says it ate the pigs, but the illustrations show him confused. Where’s the pigs? Turns out, the wolf blew apart the pages of the story and blew the pigs right off the pages! As the pigs explore white space they find pages from other stories. The end is ingenious. The characters tear apart the letters of the text, destroying the age-old narrative.  The wolf looks on in the distant landscape. Is the lesson here one of empowerment, to rewrite everything? 

Twelve years later, in Mark Teague’s The Three Little Pigs and the Somewhat Bad Wolf (2013), the three pigs live on a farm. They move out because the owners of the farm are moving to Florida and selling the property. The wolf in this story has been denied entrance to a donut shop, hot dog stand, and pizza parlor. He’s hangry when he comes upon the pigs. This wolf is surprised when he’s blown down two houses, like ‘What did I just do?’ He can’t blow down the brick house and collapses from the effort. The pigs take pity on him and feed him. This wolf is embarrassed by his behavior! Hunger drove him into unusual behavior. They all live happily ever after. Show the wolf a little respect and all will be well?

I say, watch out for the wolves, and don’t disparage yourself when you’re conned. You’ve just grown a little wiser. Maybe you’ll feel compassion for a wolf’s backstory or punish it with revenge. You may find you expected someone to act like a wolf who didn’t. There’s so many versions of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf out there IRL.