Chester the Worldly Pig

I’m sure I’ve mentioned how much I love the animal stories of Bill Peet. Like a potato chip, I can’t just limit myself to one. I have already done a review of Huge Harold but Chester the Worldly Pig is just too good to pass up doing a review of. Like Wilbur, in Charlotte’s Web, this pig had me cheering for him as he attempted to make his own luck.

Like Wilbur, Chester decides that he doesn’t want to become bacon. He decides he doesn’t want to end up on anyone’s table. But instead of finding a helpful spider, Chester decides to make his own luck. He sees a poster for the circus and decides to learn a trick. He practices and practices and finally teaches himself how to balance on his snout on a fencepost. He runs away and joins the circus only to find out that they want to make him do his trick surrounded by hungry tigers. When he faints, he becomes a clown’s sidekick. But that’s not what Chester wanted either. So he runs away from the circus only to run straight into a bear. He is saved from the bear by three hobos, but they decide to eat the little pig. They stuff Chester into a sack and take him on the trains with him. He escapes from the hobos into the city. But danger lurks everywhere in the form of butchers. He leaves the city defeated and gives himself up to the next farmer he sees. The farmer starts to fatten the pig up for eating; but Chester is saved in the end by a passing carnival promoter. Chester didn’t even need his trick, his spots form a map of the world.

As always, I am enchanted by the characters in Bill Peet’s books. Through both the story and the illustrations, Peet is able to tell an exciting story with some very memorable animal characters. Unlike so many books for children, these are not animal characters acting like people. These are animals, who act like animals, who also happen to have great adventures. Chester is a determined little pig who ends up in a series of bad positions. He is not willing to just sit and wait to become dinner. Chester decides that he will solve his problem on his own. He works hard to improve at his trick and even though it doesn’t pan out, his determination just shows how he’s not afraid of hard work or a couple bruises. Even when things reach the point where he is resigned to being dinner, he decides to do it on his own terms. He plans to grow to as big as possible. He’s a pig who takes charge of his own situation. And a great character.

This book is drawn with Bill Peet’s typical style. Using only colored pencils and ink, Peet is able to create tons of emotions for his characters. We see Chester’s pride, his heartbreak, his determination, and his joy. The rest of the cast of characters is well done but it is the little pig that steals the show. The backgrounds in Peet’s books, often set in the forest or the country, are detailed without being overpowering. A couple of pen lines somehow become a field of wheat. The circus tent is a sea of faces, all done with a bit of colored pencil and excellent shading. Peet is a master when it comes to colored pencil. At a distance, a circus elephant seems grey, but get a bit closer and you can see all the colors that have been used to create the exact shade of grey. The books are filled with great scenes. Peet’s work always seems like he’s grabbed stills from an animated film. There is so much movement and color. Perhaps it is his film background. Another Peet masterpiece and a wonderful character.

The Three Pigs

The story of the three little pigs has been told to death. As children we hear it over and over so frequently that most children can recite the lines "not by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin". We all know the story of the three brother pigs who build houses to see them knocked down. The original story had them eaten. The Disney version had the brothers surviving the attacks. And perhaps it is because we are so familiar with the tale that we are so comfortable parodying it. 

The first time I read The True Story of the Three Little Pigs I was amazed at how easy it was to deconstruct the story into something new. But not even that innovative story had prepared me for David Wiesner's The Three Pigs. I had heard that the book was revolutionary. I had heard that it turned the story on its head but when I finally sat down and read it I was blown away. (pun intended) Wiesner (whose work I adore) is a genius. This book might have to be the most unique I've read in a while. 

Warning: spoilers. If you have not read this book stop right here. Head to the library and pick up a copy. After you are done come back. Otherwise, I might just spoil the greatest children's literary surprise in years. 

The story starts out in the traditional fashion with the pigs and their houses. But when the pig in the straw house is blown out of the frame, the story becomes something entirely new. The three pigs manage to escape the wolf by stepping out of the story and adventuring on their own. I love how they use the dangerous wolf as a paper airplane to set out on their trip. They make a mess of the linear story panels, head butting them and scattering them. They wander into other tales, picking up stray characters on the way. I love the transitions they make between story character and outside characters. In one story, they become black and white illustrations while helping a dragon escape from the knight who intends to slaughter it. As they, and the dragon, leave the story panel they become colored again. 

I was enchanted with how Wiesner plays with the traditional story. The wolf is confused as the narration tells him that he eats the pig up, yet clearly there is no pig to be eaten. The knight is similarly unsure when the dragon he was sent to kill is gone. The narration continues as normal but the characters are simply missing. When the pigs, plus cat (from Hey Diddle Diddle) and dragon, decide to go home they simply rearrange the panels and arrive back at the house of bricks. And everyone, except the wolf, lives happily ever after. 

The visual work on this book is incredible. Wiesner creates different looks for the different tales and manages to slip his characters in. Children will love recognizing the pigs in each of their different versions. Once the characters slip out of the story frame they become more lifelike. What used to be a pig outline, is suddenly covered with fur and color. What used to be a black and white dragon, is now a multicolored scaly beast. We get the idea that these characters are much more themselves when not confined to their designated script. The place outside of the stories is all white, which for me symbolized the idea of a blank slate. That anything could happen. And certainly as we see the pigs say "lets explore this place" and take off in their wolf designed paper airplane, we feel the freedom that an unlimited adventure can contain. 

I can't recommend this book highly enough. Children and adults will both be enchanted with the unique story and the innovative drawings. Wiesner has outdone himself. It is no surprise to me that this book won the Caldecott.