WOLF PIE

Deviating from traditional retellings of “The Three Little Pigs,” James, Marvin and Lester Pygg build one brick house together at the start of this lively, accessible fractured tale. Marvin and Lester, cleverly depicted reading a copy of the traditional book, suggest building with straw or sticks, but James insists on sturdy bricks to safeguard against hungry wolves. When Wilfong the wolf shows up, he huffs and puffs, but the Pyggs don’t let him in—and in a twist, he doesn’t let them out. Stubborn and hungry, he spies on the Pyggs, soon growing fond of them and of the food they compassionately share. After being slowly reformed and welcomed into the Pyggs’ friendship, Wilfong cooks a vegetarian pot pie (not a lupine pie, as the title suggests) and serves it to a “bunch of big bad wolves” lurking outside. Fooled, they agree to leave as long as they get his recipe. Callen’s humorous, vibrant multimedia art deftly matches the tone of Seabrooke’s amusing tale, resulting in a winning collaboration for independent readers ready to move on to meatier texts. (Early reader. 6-8)