Personal Reaction:

-I thought that "Where's the Big Bad Wolf" was a great take on the three little pigs classic. It incorporated all of the same characters, but it also introduced new ones including a doggy detective and cows. This children's book is a mystery and the detective goes on many adventure while trying to solve it. The thought is that the big bad wolf blew down the house of straw, but readers may be surprised by the outcome. The illustrations and the motifs of the dog are good tools to bring in the attention of the students in a classroom.

Purpose:

-This book could be used for grade levels of 1-3 grade. The story could be read aloud during a lesson on mysteries. The children could even try solving their own mystery in the classroom after reading the book.
-There was a strong use of onomatopoeia throughout the book. The noises that all of the animals made and the actions that they made were all depicted through noises. This could also be a great way to introduce that type of figurative language or sound patterns to a classroom of young students.
-Children could also take this book independently or with a partner and read all of the onomatopoeia words in the story. This could be a great way for students to start working on reading on their own.

The story is about a detective dog in charge of keeping things safe in the area. He only has one nemesis - the Big Bad Wolf (BBW). Sometimes a little hard to read because the voice bubbles repeat what the text says. Easier to get through on multiple readings.

The drawings are fun to look at.

caroline loves this book - me not so much.

This is a retelling of the three little pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, and it’s told as a mystery with Detective Doggedly doing the narrative. This was a very cute way to re-do the story. Detective Doggedly is driving when one day out of nowhere the wind stirs up so much hay that he has a hard time seeing through it. He can hear a pig squealing and just knows that the BBW is up to no good again, even though he promised to stay out of trouble. The rest of the story is Detective Doggedly trying to solve the mystery of the three little pigs constantly being under attack and why the Big Bad Wolf never seems to be around at the time.

Very Cute!

Police Detective Phineas T. Doggedly is on a hunt for low-down, chicken chasing, pig-poaching rascal known as the Big Bad Wolf. After being caught, the Big Bad Wolf breaks his promise to never do his dirty deeds again. Dressed up as a sheep named Esmerlda, the wolf befriends three little pigs who the wolf intends to eat. Meanwhile, the Detective is trying to connect the clues of a sheep with a gray tail. With the help of the neighborhood cows, the Big Bad Wolf is captured.

Adorable twisted fairy tale.

Where’s the Big Bad Wolf? is a fun, mystery picture book written and illustrated by Eileen Christelow. In whodunit spirit, Christelow has a fresh take on the classic version of The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. Police detective Phineas T. Doggedly works as the narrator for the story with the hopes of catching the culprit, the Big Bad Wolf, who has been disrupting the town’s peace. This fast-paced story gives the audience not only an opportunity to guess for clues, but to hunt down that low-down, no-good, chicken-chasing, pig-poaching Big Bad Wolf! When huffing and puffing is applied to the straw houses, the three little pigs are left with nothing and are in complete distress. Just in the knick of time, clueless Doggedly arrives at the scene where Esmeralda, a sheep, is the only one to be found. Will Doggedly find the Big Bad Wolf before it’s too late? Christelow’s new perspective on a classic tale creates a sense of independent writing by providing readers with personal ideas and persuasion.

With muted tones of colorful illustrations on each page, Christelow draws in the setting of crime activity during the night. Although the illustrations do not seem realistic because of its comic strip format, Christelow maintains the lightheartedness and humor of this classic tale by creating visual appeals of cartoons and speech bubbles that are both brilliant and unique for young readers. Christelow manages to turn the rather obvious clues into a hilarious mix of parody and silliness. While this is not the first retelling of The Three Little Pigs story, this story is different from the rest because it allows the audience to play a guessing game and work to solve the mystery as the story goes on. This exciting read for children gives them the opportunity to really think and go further beyond the traditional story that we all know and love!

Giving a twist to the classic tale of The Three Little Pigs, Detective Doggedly investigates a series of mysterious events leading to three little pigs and their houses being ruined. While the main suspect is the Big Bad Wolf who is known for his chicken-chasing and pig-poaching, he seems to always have evidence of how he is not responsible for the crimes. Esmeralda the sheep on the other hand always seems to conveniently be first on the scene. Something doesn't quite check out. With the help of the elderly cows, Doggedly is able to look for clues that brings him to the culprit. When thinking of using this book in class I would definitely use it as an example of twisted tales which could support students in writing their own twisted tales. This book tells the story of The Three Little Pigs in a different way and with a different perspective which is a prime example of twisted tales. Additionally, there are several points throughout the book where there is dialogue in the illustrations which adds to the reading of the story. I think this could be a good way for students to see how text and illustrations can work together to give more detail or context to a story such as who exactly is the speaker.

This is pretty much a detective version of The Three Little Pigs, and it works for me. I read this to younger students and I was able to introduce the words clue and solve into their vocabulary. Not bad for a fractured retelling of an old fairy tale. It got a few laughs out of the kids and it kept them engaged.

Part of literature unit:

Police detective Phineas T. Doggedly is on the case of a huffing and puffing criminal. Already suspicious of the big bad wolf, the police detective works to see who or what is blowing down the houses of three innocent pigs. Whenever he shows up at the scene of the crime, it appears that a sheep is always close by. In the end, the detective figures out who is responsible for the crimes. This book is colorfully illustrated in muted tones, which adds to the setting of the nighttime crime activities. The characters have been drawn in cartoon like form.Students can read this book as a writer to see how the author used a familiar classic story to serve as the foundation for a new mystery. I would recommend this book as a read aloud for grades 1-3, if the students are familiar with the stories included. I would also recommend this book for 4th and 5th graders as a way to see how different authors approach writing mysteries.

This is another spin-off to The Three Little Pigs but through the perspective of Detective Doggedly (first person narrative). The illustrations appear to look more like a comic strip because the characters look cartoonish with speech bubbles. After a few pictures, you realize it is the wolf dressed in a sheep costume and there are some references to sheep. For example, "BBW's pulling the wool over your eyes." I liked that the wise cows take the little pigs in and teach them how to build a real house. The speech bubbles add a more narrative element to the characters and a little humorous.

Where’s The Big Bad Wolf follows Detective Doggedly as he tracks down the notorious criminal, The Big Bad Wolf. This picture book is a clever and innovative retelling of a classic children’s tale. The story relies on the reader using the illustrations to catch onto hidden details and context clues that help tell the story. After discovering the three little pig’s homes blown down and meeting a sheep at the crime scene, Detective Doggedly must quickly solve the case before The Big Bad Wolf can eat the pigs. This is classic formula fiction with a predictable story that young children will surely enjoy. In the classroom, I would use it in the primary grades as a mentor text for skills such as inferencing, using illustrations to determine key details, sequencing, predicting, or identifying story elements. You could also use this story to have students justify answers using evidence from a story. For example, students might have to predict who the culprit of the crime is, justifying their answers with text or visual evidence.