Book Review for BIG AND BAD by Etienne Delessert (Genre 2)

**Please note: The following review has been created for coursework at Texas Woman's University.

1. Bibliography:
Delessert, Etienne. 2008. Big and Bad. Ill. Etienne Delessert. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 9780618889341

2. Plot Summary:
Big and Bad is a wolf who is terrorizing other animals by eating them and making hats from their fur.  Two cats devise a plan to stop Big and Bad by using three little pigs as bait.  With the help of the other animals, they weave a house out of straw and build a trapdoor inside so that the bait can escape.  The wolf is dumbfounded when he destroys the house and the three little pigs are not inside.  The animals continue this process by building a house out of wood and then another out of brick.  When Big and Bad enters the house through the chimney of the brick house, he is burned by the fire in the fireplace and shoots out of the chimney like a rocket.  Even today Wolf is still circling the earth "as bright as a shooting star."

3. Critical Analysis
The setting and characters of the story follow traditional literary techniques because the setting is vague and the main character has come from "far away."  Likewise, the character of the wolf, Big and Bad, is the archetypal bad villain while the animals represent the archetypal good guys.  The plot is full of action with the animals and wolf continually in a battle against each other; however, the resolution of the conflict comes quickly to an end and doesn't leave the reader with a satisfying conclusion to the conflict.  Although good does triumph in the end, the reader can assume that because the wolf is still circling around the earth like a shooting star he will never harm the animals again.  Like stated earlier, the resolution seems to lack closure to a well-developed story and leaves the reader wanting more.  The theme of the novel is clear: good always wins in the end; additionally, this story presents lessons in anger, the idea of what comes around goes around, and the importance of teamwork.  The author uses humorous hyperbole to exaggerate the description of the wolf: "His head was so large that he needed the skin of seven cats to cover it" and "After every meal a flock of birds fluttered into Big and Bad's open mouth the clean his gruesomely shiny teeth."  Young readers will find this humorous.  They will also appreciate the slight alteration of this story to the original folktale.  The repeated motif of the number three is seen several places in the book: the number of houses that the animals build, the number of pigs, and the time of day in which wolf wakes up on the last day.  There are no cultural markers for this book.  It seems to represent a modern-day telling of a classic story that could be relevant in any culture at any time period.

The illustrations for this book are done by the author himself, and they enhance the story by bringing to life the cruel wolf and innocent animals.  The gray tones of the wolf are often contrasted with bright oranges and reds which symbolize violence and blood.  The illustrations are comical, too, with the drawing of the wolf's hat which is made out of cats and still has the paws and tails attached.  The illustrations also move the story along by illustrating the important components of each event.  The final illustration of the animals, muted tones of pinks, browns, and grays, watching happily as the wolf shoots through the air, a reddish-orange ball of fire, emphasizes the theme of good triumphing over evil.

4. Review Excerpts:
Kirkus review: Delessert’s distinctive art adds a stylish note to this re-envisioned version of “Three Little Pigs.”
Publishers Weekly: What distinguishes Delessert's work is the willingness to explore images of evil — images from which most contemporary picture books shrink, but which lurk nevertheless in the nightmares of children. His tale is an unlikely homage to those of his literary forebears, the Brothers Grimm." 


5. Connections
This book would be a good choice to use in studying variants and versions of the classic "The Three Little Pigs."  Teachers and librarians could include other versions and compare and contrast the storyline and plot.  Consider incorporating these other variants into your lesson:
Christelow, Eileen. Where's the Big Bad Wolf? ISBN 0618181946 
Amoss, Berthe. The Three Cajun Little Pigs. ISBN 1596432756
Brett, Jan. The Three Little Dassies. ISBN 0399254994
Kimmel, Eric A. The Three Little Tamales. ISBN 0761455191