The Three Ninja Pigs

The Three Ninja Pigs written by Corey Rosen Schwartz and illustrated by Dan Santat (2012)

This is a new twist on an old classic. That bully, the big bad wolf, is at it again… this time in a fractured fairy tale rhyme written by Corey Rosen Schwartz. The characters are three simple pigs who have had enough of that old bully. They decide to take aikido, jujitsu, and karate. As expected, the first two pigs give up easily but the third little pig ‘persisted in ernest’ until she earned her last belt. Then when the wolf came back, the first little pig wished he had prepared more and ran to his brother’s house; the second little pig got his foot lodged in the wall when he tried his best flying kick and had to be carried by his brother to the third little pig’s house; and the third little pig bowed to the wolf and gave him a warning before she demonstrated her skills. The surprised wolf took off running while the brothers ‘high-fived their sister’ and cheered.  The brothers decided to go back to school and trained until they earned their degrees. “Three pigs full of mojo then ran their own dojo, and life was forever wolf-free.”

Corey Rosen Schwartz weaves the story with fast-paced action and humor and lots of ‘ninja’ terms to entertain the youngest ninja readers. She says she got her idea for the story when her own son told someone that he spoke a little ‘karate’. For anyone not familiar with the vocabulary used in the book, there is a glossary of terms at the end.

Dan Santat, creator of Disney’s ‘The Replacements’ and holder of a black belt himself, filled the pages of this book with funny and authentic illustrations.

I love reading fractured fairy tales and this is one of my new favorites. The rhyme and illustrations are ninja-perfect! And I’m also particularly pleased with the characterization of the third little pig being a smart, funny, and strong sister. Go Girl Power!