Tell the Truth, B.B. Wolf

PreS-Gr 3—This brilliant retelling deserves a place at the head of the fractured-fairy-tale pack next to Jon Scieszka's The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs (Puffin, 1995). Following Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf (Knopf, 2007), the notorious Big Bad Wolf and other fairy-tale characters of ill repute are hard at work fixing up the Villain Villa Senior Center when Wolf's cell phone rings and the local librarian invites him to tell the story of how he met the three pigs. Ashamed of his prior transgressions, Wolf tells a gentler version involving blowing on dandelions and saving pigs from matches. Heckling from the pigs in the audience finally prompts this reformed Wolf to ask for their forgiveness. His transformation is not complete without a new middle name, though (provided by the library's dictionary), and a fitting act of reparation. Musical segments send an already madcap narrative over-the-top. Seibold's vivid computer illustrations, replete with comic touches, are a perfect match for Sierra's zany tale. Reluctant readers familiar with the bold imagery and comic timing of after-school cartoons will be glued to this inspired collaboration.—Jayne Damron, Farmington Community Library, MI

B.B. Wolf (Mind Your Manners, B.B. Wolf) tries to tell his version of "The Three Little Pigs," in which he was just blowing on a dandelion puff. Unfortunately for B.B., the other nursery tale characters aren't buying it. Seibold's stylish illustrations, with their cartoon energy and zippy details, along with Sierra's multiple puns, make this new spin unique.