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 NO LIE, PIGS ( AND THEIR HOUSES) CAN FLY! THE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS AS TOLD BY THE WOLF 

  1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Gunderson, Jessica, and Cristian Bernardini. NO LIE, PIGS (AND THEIR HOUSES) CAN FLY! THE STORY OF THE THREE LITTLE PIGS AS TOLD BY THE WOLF. Picture Window Books, 2016. ISBN 9781479586257


  1. PLOT SUMMARY

    NO LIE, PIGS ( AND THEIR HOUSES CAN FLY!) Is a fractured retelling of the original traditional tale The Three Little Pigs, but instead tells us the side of the story of its well known villain, “the Big, Bad Wolf”. In a cast of anthropomorphic characters, Wolf first tells the readers that he has UBS (“Uncontrollable Breathing Syndrome”), where when he breathes, he lets out big gusts of wind that he can’t control. He confides to readers in how he is bullied by the other wolves in his pack because of his UBS, and he made fun of so much he left the pack to find new friends. On his journey, he finds a straw house with a pig cooking over a pot of soup. As the wolf called out “Little Pig!” to introduce himself, the house exploded, and the pig took one look at him and jumped in the boiling pot of soup because he was scared! Wolf tried to apologize, but only found a fat, juicy ham, which he ate. 

As Wolf continued into the forest, he came upon a wooden house, where a pig was cooking potatoes over a skillet, and when Wolf again tried to introduce himself to the pig, a huge gush of wind came out of him uncontrollably and made the house crash into a hundred pieces, and the surprised pig jumped into the hot frying pan. Wolf tried looking for the pig to apologize for scaring him but only found sizzling bacon, which he ate.

 Finally, Wolf came upon a brick house, and found that even when he called out to greet the pig, the house didn’t blow down like the others! But the pig was scared and said no. Wolf wanted to be nice, so he gathered a basket of snacks and put the treats in front of the pig’s door, who snatched up the gift and slammed the door. Wolf was hungry, and hoped that the pig would share some of his food with him, so he decided to go down the chimney to talk to the Pig… and he fell into the boiling stew below! The Pig and Wolf realized that with his fur burned off, Wolf looked like a Pig! The Pig (whose name was Mort) apologized for being so rude- he assumed that all wolves were mean and wanted to only eat pigs! Wolf told Mort about his UBS and how the wolves bullied him. Mort showed Wolf the ways that his UBS could help others, and Mort and Wolf became good friends. 


  1. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

    NO LIE, PIGS (AND THEIR HOUSES) CAN FLY! teaches readers not to assume the worst of others, especially by their appearance. Through Wolf’s side of the story, it shows how the character actually really wasn’t that bad, but was misunderstood, and was only looking for friends who wouldn’t bully him like his pack did. Each of the situations that happened in the original story, such as blowing down the straw house and the wooden house, as well as “eating” the pigs, were all misunderstandings and accidents the Wolf didn’t mean to do and, or did so unknowingly. Compared to the original traditional tale, the Wolf’s actions were not purposeful and devious in intent, as he is portrayed as in the name “The Big Bad Wolf”, but the situations were only accidents that came about without warning, and especially whenever he was trying to make friends. 


While not unique or incredible of themselves , the digital illustrations accurately portray both the humor and sadness of the Wolf’s side of the story compared to its original tale, which only paints a “dark side” or “bad guy” version of the wolf. In NO LIE, PIGS (AND THEIR HOUSES) CAN FLY!, the illustrations portray Wolf’s deep hurt, embarrassment, and sadness when he is bullied by the wolves in his pack, and the other wolves would taunt him mockingly whenever he accidentally ruined things with his UBS by saying things such as,

“Hey, Wicked Windy!” the other wolves yell. “How’s it flying?” Or “Hang on to your hats! Here comes Hurricane Hairy!”

This scene in particular that introduces the reader to both the first conflict of the story, as well as a unique side of the story and of the character Wolf that even other retellings of the traditional tale don’t point out: Wolf has and can’t control his UBS, he really just wanted to make friends, and all his sudden gusts of wind are accidental, not purposeful. No longer is Wolf portrayed to readers as “The Big Bad Wolf” persona of the original traditional tale, but he’s seen as misunderstood, and a character who craves and is looking for friendship. The very real stereotype that wolves are dark and sinister, and who are lone creatures who crave to kill is unfounded, and this story is the perfect introductory in children’s literature of a twist on a traditional tale that continues the misinformation of wolves that literature, and even cinema push on their viewers. 


  1. REVIEW EXCERPT

    Horn Book Guide (Fall 2016)

“Another series of fractured fairy tales, this time intended for Common Core curriculum purposes (with teaching ideas related to critical thinking included). The undistinguished, verbose texts and unattractive, cartoonlike digital illustrations make these poor choices for reading aloud when many other more humorous versions exist, such as Jon Scieszka's The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. Reading list. Glos. [Review covers the following Other Side of the Story titles: No Lie, Pigs (and Their Houses) Can Fly! and Trust Me, Hansel and Gretel are Sweet!.”


  1. CONNECTIONS 

    Possible Activities:

  • More to the story: talk with the children about the harm of making assumptions, and how The Wolf felt in the story, and what happened when the pigs made assumptions. 

  • Compare the Wolf character in the original story to Wolf in this story 

  • Pick from the Common Core activities at the back of the book to start discussions about the story. 

  • Act out what happened in the story. 
  • For older readers, read and compare the wolf characters and their personalities in The Way Home for Wolf, Wolf and the Snow, and NO LIE, PIGS ( AND THEIR HOUSES) CAN FLY!, and discuss how many stories betray wolves as evil, like the “Big, Bad Wolf” of the original study. Show true interesting facts about wolves, who are noble, loving, and loyal to their family and pack.


    Similar Reads: 

  • Continue the series, called “The Other Side of the Story”, that has 18 books within the series

  • Bright, Rachel, and Jim Field. The Way Home for Wolf. ISBN 9781338592740

  • Cordell, Matthew. Wolf in the Snow. ISBN 9781250076366

  • Lallemand, Orianne and Eleonore Thuillier. The Wolf Who Visited the Land of Fairy Tales. ISBN 978-2733859629

  • Scieszka, Jon, and Lane Smith. The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. ISBN 9780670827596


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