Where's the Big Bad Wolf?

I used this for my 3rd grade class when we studied mysteries and drawing inferences. I also used this with my grandchildren, 2nd and 4th grade. They loved it. There is a cute, cute story, but the pictures and are what really give the clues. There are so many spins on the Three Little Pigs story (I have them all) but this one is very unique. You will want it!

In zesty small town spirit this book tells the whodunnit mystery involving three pigs getting bad advice from a mysterious sheep, some badgering old cows, and a detective dog who works as the narrator. As one can probably guess, this is yet another angle on the whole Three Little Pigs story, and yet it manages to be its own plot altogether, what with poor detective Doggedly spending his nights watching the pigs' place for signs of suspicious activity. It's hilarious, fresh, and amazingly complex as a mystery that keeps itself secretive even as it dishes out the rather obvious clues--making it a good read for kids. The writing is incredible and demands to be read aloud with a bit of twang in the voice (really, it makes it that much more fun.) Brilliant take on an old fairy tale.

My sons (ages 7 and 5) absolutely love this book. Esmerelda is a wolf in sheep's clothing who tries to convince the gullible pigs to build ever-flimsier homes ("Build a cardboard house! It's so much easier"). Detective Phineas T. Doggedly finally tracks down the BBW (Big Bad Wolf) with the help of the elderly cows who live nearby. It's a great book with captivating illustrations and characters. So far as we're concerned, it ranks right up there with Steven Kellogg's "Three Little Pigs" and "The Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig". Definitely a classic -- I'm really surprised that no one has reviewed it before.