Wiesner, David. 2001. The three pigs. Illustrated by David Wiesner. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN: 0-395-67346-1.
In David Wiesner�s The Three Pigs both the wise and foolish pigs reach safety from the huffing and puffing wolf by escaping from the book. The wolf continues on in the original story confused by the lack of pig he finds once he blows the house down. Out of the story at last, the pigs roam around other classic stories such as Hey Diddle, Diddle. The three pigs befriend the cat that was playing the fiddle, in addition to befriending a dragon that was about to be slain. With the help of these new friends, the pigs are able to return to their home -- in the original story � and take car of the wolf for good. Wiesner�s adaptation of this classic story is very enjoyable to readers of all ages.
Wiesner�s illustrations are wonderful. He experiments with the genre showing that new and wonderful things can happen in the field of illustration. For example, Wiesner makes good use of white (or blank) space in the book. As the pigs make their escape out of the book and into the free (and un-drawn) world, they are surrounded by open space. They fly in a paper plane across the pages of the book. In addition, Wiesner explores a variety of artistic approaches. For example, there are many different types of illustrations in the book. There is the traditional type of illustration which is shown in the beginning with the pigs still in their original story. Then there are the illustrations of the free-roaming pigs. Around page twenty (the pages are unnumbered) there is an extremely good close-up of a pig. It is my favorite illustration in the book. The pigs look more life-like out of the book than when they are in the original story. Another style of illustration is when the three pigs visit the world of Hey Diddle, Diddle. Around page twenty-two and twenty-three, the three pigs enter this cartoon world. The pigs change appearance once again. The reader will also notice that this same magical transference happens to the cat when he steps out of his story. The fourth style of illustration is when the pigs enter the world of a black-and-white storybook featuring a dragon. They rescue the dragon and escape back into the colorful world. The pigs and accompanying creatures transition back into the original style illustrations at the end of the book. Wiesner�s work is worthy of praise; one can easily see why he won the Caldecott Medal for this book in 2002.