The three little pigs

K-Gr 2-The three little pigs are ready to strike out on their own. As the siblings set out to build their individual homes in the forest, they encounter the Big Bad Wolf. As he travels by food truck from house to house, he pounds on their door with a fork, politely asking, "Little pig, little pig, may I come in?" When he hears "Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!" his face turns red and he huffs and puffs and blows the first two structures down. The third and biggest house, made of brick, remains standing. All the pigs live happily ever after (in their own brick houses) once the wolf falls into the pot of boiling water they placed under the chimney. This is a bright, colorful retelling of the story. The digital illustrations include cozy houses, three pigs with distinct personalities (one is a girl), and a wolf who wears a chef's hat. VERDICT Fans of this retelling may want to download the app on which it's based.-Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Nosy Crow turns its outstanding Three Little Pigs fairy-tale app (2011) into a print book. Bright, cartoon-style illustrations set a cheerful tone as the three little pigs set off to make their ways in the world, even though a mischievous wolf lurks in the background. The action moves briskly along, with each pig building a house and living happily until the wolf arrives. Most of the familiar elements are present, but no pigs get eaten in this version. After his house is destroyed, the first little pig runs "squealing to his sister's house with the wolf racing after him." Excellent design balances full-bleed illustrations with close-ups framed in plenty of negative space. Words printed in boldface and varied fonts encourage readers to add emphasis and emotion in just the right spots. In the end, the wolf runs howling down the road with a burned rear end: no wolf stew for these little pigs. The storybook app Cinderella (2011) receives similar treatment as a print book. Both lack the humorous speech bubbles from the apps, keeping the focus on the simplified stories. In Cinderella, this has the effect of taking away some of the pizzazz and nuances noted in the app, but the classic pig tale weathers the transition just fine. Excellent design and illustrations successfully turn a popular storybook app into an appealing picture book. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.