Published: 2022
Series: N/A
Author: Davide Cali
Illustrator: Marianna Balducci
Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Counting, Mathematics, Animals, Childrens, Fairy Tales, Fiction, Storytime, Wolves
Audience: Elementary
Number of Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads Link: Too Many Pigs and One Big Bad Wolf
Triggers: Comedic/cartoon depictions of a wolf eating pigs
Review By: Jacqueline Wolken
Publisher’s Summary:
An unseen narrator goes head-to-head with the big bad wolf in this hilarious counting-book twist on The Three Little Pigs.
Once upon a time, there were three little pigs.
Then the wolf ate them.
THE END.
This story is too short! I want a longer one! In this clever counting book, the big bad wolf doesn’t want to tell a long story. He wants to get to the eating part. But the narrator has other ideas. From a pig soccer team to a pig for every letter of the alphabet to 101 pigs in an animated movie, the stories get more and more fantastical . . . but they’re always too short and they ALL end the same way. Using an abacus as the basis for her illustrations, Marianna creates beguiling little pigs and a menacing but slightly bored wolf that perfectly complement the inventive story by Davide Cali. Come for the counting, stay for the storytelling! This book has it all.
Review:
This book is short, but it didn’t matter: I didn’t need a lot of pages before I was instantly enthralled with the humor in this story. The book is a conversation between the author and the reader, and the back-and-forth between the two is completely engaging and amusing. This story can be used throughout the elementary graders as it has so much to offer. It is described as a counting book, as the number of pigs being eaten by the wolf grows with each retelling of the story. Primary elementary teachers can use this book as a tool to discuss counting, number recognition, and number comparison. As a teacher of upper elementary students, my immediate thoughts when reading this book is to use it for teaching writing, specifically narrative writing, sequence, and use of details. Too Many Pigs and One Big Bad Wolf offers a funny take on how to tell a good story, specifically what details are important to include and which ones are unnecessary. I highly recommend this book!
Classroom & Curricular Connections:
- Mathematics & Early Counting: For primary elementary grades, teachers can explicitly target standard math skills including sequential counting, cardinality, number recognition, and comparative math operations as the volume of pigs scales up.
- English Language Arts (ELA) & Narrative Writing: For upper elementary levels, this text is a brilliant mentor piece for teaching story construction, narrative sequence, pacing, metafictional dialogue, and demonstrating the value of incorporating intentional sensory details over unnecessary filler text.
- Extension Activity / Library Application:
- Interactive Library Storytime & Read-Aloud: This book serves as a dynamic read-aloud option where librarians can take on the persona of the eager narrator or the impatient wolf, engaging young audiences to call out numbers or anticipate the repeating comedic endings.
- Creative Writing Fractured Fairy Tale Activity: Students can participate in a workshop where they write their own brief, structured subversions of classic fairy tales. Using Cali’s model, they can script a back-and-forth dialogue between an impatient antagonist and an demanding narrator attempting to change the narrative layout.
- Diversity & Representation: The text offers an inventive stylistic subversion of traditional fairy tales, encouraging cognitive flexibility, humor, and non-traditional structures in literature. While focusing on personified animal archetypes rather than distinct human cultures, it expands narrative inclusion by directly breaking the “fourth wall,” making young learners feel valued and actively included as participants within the storytelling experience itself.
Readalikes:
- The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith
- The Three Pigs by David Wiesner
