THE THREE LITTLE PIGS

Porkers in glass houses shouldn’t meet wolves. One day, the three impeccably dressed pigs tuck their drafting tools under their arms and leave their impressive house (the Gamble House, by Greene and Greene) in the woods, waving goodbye to Mother. The first builds a house of scraps (sheet metal and fence pieces and wood—it’s the Gehry House); the second of glass (Philip Johnson’s Glass House); the third of stone and concrete (Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater). Evil wolf, in boots, black leather jacket and shades, rides in on a motorcycle. He makes quick work of the first two houses, but the third proves challenging. Before wolf meets his end coming down the chimney, he and the third pig have a couple of encounters at Frank’s Flea Market and Johnson’s Farm that parallel the original tale. Guarnaccia’s illustrations are quirky and stylish, incorporating notable 20th- and 21st-century architecture and interior design elements (the key is on the endpapers). His text lags the illustrations in hipness, though. And why, in this time of eco-consciousness, does he disdain the recycled house of scraps? (Picture book. 3-6)