Too Many Pigs and One Big Bad Wolf: A Counting Story

by Davide Calì, Marianna Balducci (illustrator)

An unseen reader goes head-to-head with the big bad wolf in this hilarious counting-book twist on The Three Little Pigs.

Once upon a time, there were three little pigs.
Then the wolf ate them.
THE END.
 
This story is too short! I want a longer one!
 
In this clever counting book, the big bad wolf doesn’t want to tell a long story. He wants to get to the eating part. But the reader has other ideas. From a pig soccer team to a pig for every letter of the alphabet to 101 pigs in an animated movie, the stories get more and more fantastical . . . but they’re always too short and they ALL end the same way.
 
Using an abacus as the basis for her illustrations, Marianna creates beguiling little pigs and a menacing but slightly bored wolf that perfectly complement the inventive story by Davide Cali. Come for the counting, stay for the storytelling! This book has it all.

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Counting, Mathematics, Animals, Childrens, Fairy Tales

Kindle Edition

First published September 27, 2022

About the author

Davide Calì is a Swiss-born Italian writer of picture books and graphic novels, primarily for children and young adults. He lives in Italy. His work has been published in twenty-five countries and translated into many languages.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally, a fairy tale where the wolf gets to eat all the pigs he wants! And it's a hilariously huge amount of pigs . . .

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the publisher through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.

UPDATE 12/29/2022
My daughter was away at college when I first received and read this book. I read it to her today, and we both laughed constantly throughout.

[Chloe Ritchie]

Too Many Pigs and One Big Bad Wolf: A Counting Story; tells the story of a wolf who sharing a story to the three little pigs, but the pigs find it too boring. So he begins the story again...

This story is such a cute and fun read. Children aged five and under will love it! And I really appreciated the like to maths and concrete resources.

The story itself, is okay. My only issue is that the story is unbelievably repetitive. The wolf tells the story, the pigs find it boring, and the cycle repeats. However, although I didn't enjoy this. I know children will. Which is why, overall, I rated it 3 stars.

Thank you to netgallery for allowing me to read this story, in exchange for an honest review

[Dawn Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Colorful and quirky, this is a fun [though rather repetitive] picture book that incorporates counting and colors and and poor storytelling [much to the annoyance of the little listener]. While I didn't love this one [though the illustrations are colorful and fun and are really the best part of this book], I can see very little loving this [4 and under IMO] and learning numbers and colors and the alphabet, and I can see adults using this to expand on the information their kids already have.

Thank you to NetGalley, Davide Cali, Marianna Balducci - Illustrator, and Penguin Random House Canada/Tundra Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot wait to buy this book for all of the “quirky” kids in my life. If offbeat humor and thinking outside of the box are how you and your little ones roll, this is perfect for you. The three little pigs will never be the same again!

This unbiased review is based on a complimentary copy provided by the publisher.

[Carolyn Bragg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A storyteller makes a tale about little pigs and a wolf too short. One sentence would be considered too short by any child, and this was not a long sentence.

The increasing number of pigs turns the story into a counting game (of wooden pig beads on an abacus), and the creative illustrations make it even more fun!

While teasingly avoiding what is truly wanted; a traditional story, the storyteller continues to add more little pigs, and changes the themes of the story (from colors to sports to the alphabet, etc.). The wolf plays along, but hasn't forgotten his job as the Big Bad Wolf.

This is a story readers will not soon forget. And children will learn to anticipate the changes coming up "That pig was first!"

It's a silly, and funny, and creative version of the Three Little Pigs that provides an alternative to the traditional story. Especially positive for young fans of the wolf! Delightful!

5/5 Stars

Thanks to Tundra Books and NetGalley for the preview of this ebook galley; the review is voluntary.


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#MariannaBalducci #MariannaBalducciIllust
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#ChildrensFictionCountingMath
#ChildrensFictionHumor
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#ChildrenMathCounting
#ChildrenMathCountingAbacus

[Ivonne Rovira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrator Marianna Balducci creates a magical world of three-dimensional pigs on an abacus in some of the most amazing — I don’t want to call them drawings, as they’re so much more — whatever they should be called.

What’s amazing is that Davide Cali’s accompanying text matches the — again, what to call them? — “illustrations” so well. I’m an adult, and I forgot this was a counting book because the storyline was so good! And so funny! Kids will adore this book, but I suspect their grownups will love the book even more! Kids reject most counting books before kindergarten, but this particularly one will appeal even to tweens, who will get the joke.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada and Tundra Books in exchange for an honest review.

[Jenn Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a weird one but I loved it. Some of the most unique illustrations I've seen - pigs in the stories represented by abacus beads that have been decorated to match each tale. The actual content is a very silly back and forth between the narrator and the child to whom they are telling the story. The story is always too short because the wolf eats all the pigs(!) but each rendition ups the ante of the joke. Best for reading with a child or small group of children old enough to participate in the joking around and maybe even come up with your own versions together.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is hilarious! I love the way it is illustrated and the tiny stories of the pigs getting eaten! Wonderful.

[Lisa K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Counting and colors and the fact that a story needs a beginning, a middle, and an end -- it's all in here! Funny with delightful art that blends photos and drawings.

[Adele · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is amusing and I like that the wolf gets to eat the pigs, but then it just ends. I was expecting something more. It also feels like the elements were shoved together with no rhyme or reason. There is an abacus on most of the pages and the pigs are abacus beads even when there is no abacus, but this conceit isn't really used or necessary, and certainly isn't explained. It's also unclear who is telling the stories and who is listening and complaining. Too weird for me.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A meta story where more and more Pigs are added in an effort to lengthen the story.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fractured fairytale based on the story of the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf. The premise of the story is a conversation between two characters, maybe a narrator and a listener/reader using two different font colours. The narrator is trying to tell a short story about a wolf and pigs but the listener feels the story is too short. The narrator then gradually adds or multiplies the number of pigs from the previous page until there are way too many pigs but the story isn’t any longer and the two speakers give up.

While being a funny play on a beloved fairytale, it is also an invitation for exploring math concepts using manipulatives such as a rekenrek (abicus) and pictorial representations such as groups in multiplication. This book also gives options for a “high ceiling low floor” approach to mathematical problem solving because it allows children to enter at any point. There are questions about basic addition and also multiplication.

This is a fairly short but interesting story that I think would have a lot of buy in from early and middle elementary students in grades 1-4. I could definitely see myself using this in Math class to bring literacy and numeracy together with my Grade 3 students and would recommend this book to my colleagues.

I really appreciate the opportunity from Netgalley and the publisher to read and review an advance copy of this book! I am looking forward to purchasing a copy for my students in the future!

[Elles_shelves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Too Many Pigs and One Big Bad Wolf is a delightful short children’s book that is the perfect read aloud for children. The story is told from the point of view of the wolf who of course wants to eat all of the little pigs. He is telling the story to the reader who is wanting a longer tale from the wolf. So the wolf makes up different small silly stories that are actually pretty funny. As the wolf gels his stories, there are some good skills that can be talked about during a read aloud. The wolf talks about colors of a rainbow, ordinal numbers, alphabetical order, months, addition, counting, multiplication, equal groups, sizes, and of course fairy tales.
I really enjoyed this book and will absolutely be adding it to my classroom library. Students should enjoy the humor and it would be wonderful to use when talking about perspective, point of view, fairy tales, etc.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

A darkly quirky picture book where the Big Bad Wolf eats pigs page after page after page. There's a little bit of math and a lot of metafiction, but there's also an abacus that isn't always used correctly, a lot of repetition, and too many adorable pigs who get gobbled up. Readers who enjoy the macabre in picture books will probably appreciate the humor. However, sensitive readers need to approach this one with care.

[Kaitlyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I LOVED the illustrations but didn't like the storyline.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence: Once upon a time, there were three little pigs. Then the wolf ate them. THE END.
This story is too short! I want a longer one! Once upon a time, there were four little pigs. The wolf ate the first three. Then he ate the fourth, but it took longer because that pig was bigger. THE END. This story is STILL too short. There must be other things happening! Once upon a time, there were five little pigs. The wolf ate the first, then the second, then third, fourth, and fifth. Meanwhile, there was a carnival in the woods. THE END. The little pigs always get eaten too fast! And what does a carnival have to do with anything?

Premise/plot: The big, bad wolf gets to eat a LOT of pigs in this imaginative retelling of the traditional folk tale. The little pigs are bantering with the narrator about the story, about how it is unfolding, and they are not at all happy. However, the narrator seems to be #teamwolf. The narrator mainly seems focused on making sure the wolf is HAPPY and FULL. How many pigs can a wolf eat???

My thoughts: I thought this one was SO MUCH FUN. Fairy tale adaptations can be a hoot. Not always. It's not a guarantee. There have been adaptations and retellings that have not been all that great. But this one, well, it is just fun. (As long as you are not one of the pigs]. 

The book is written as a dialogue of sorts. The text in red represents the pigs. The text in black is the narrator. Two people [adult and child] could easily read this one together. Of course, it doesn't have to be read that way. It would also, I imagine, be great to read aloud in a classroom or library setting. The story is VERY predictable which can be a great thing for this age group.

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seriously? I loved the colorful pages wow; they were very colorful and bright! I loved how the pigs were climbing all over the abacus and being acrobats. I thought the wolf was funny in his yellow raincoat and hat. How funny was that?! The illustrations inside this book were very entertaining!

I think to take these illustrations and create a new storyline would be a good writing project. I did like the tone of the writing. I liked how the storyline was written on one side of the page in black print and on the other side of the page, a response from a reader was written in red print. I didn’t care for the storyline in this book at all and I don’t see how a young child could like it either. A counting book? I just couldn’t see this as a counting book either. The storyline centers upon “three little pigs and the wolf that ate them, The End.” The reader wants a longer storyline so the writer adds more pigs to the storyline but the result is still the same (the wolf eats them, The End.) and again, the reader is not happy. The writer adds more pigs, only this time the pigs are doing a variety of activities but the results are still the same (the wolf eats them, The End.) and again, the reader is not happy. The storyline gets added to over and over again and I was hoping something would change at the end of the story but nope, the wolf ate them, The End. This was not a story that I enjoyed. The illustrations were great but the storyline was a no for me. 2.5 stars for me.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too Many Pigs and One Big Bad Wolf: A Counting Story
The storyteller’s audience is not happy! Would you be?

“Once upon a time, there were three little pigs.
Then the wolf ate them.
THE END.”

“This story is too short! I want a longer one!”

The narrator tries (not very hard) to make the story longer, first adding more pigs, then random details - One was a skateboarder. He was eaten first! There were 10, no 11! They were a soccer team!
He tries 26 pigs in alphabetical order, then 29 for the days in a month (Feb.; Leap Year)
101 pigs wanted to make a movie, but - surprise! - the wolf ate them.
When he gets to 300, the listener wants to know if it will make the story longer, but the pigs were tiny and the wolf ate them like cereal.

The illustrations are clever and colorful, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, and the silliness will be a hit with kids. For the adult reading, it is at once repetitive and disjointed, and the transitions can be abrupt, but touching on addition, the colors of a rainbow, alphabetical order, and other devices offers extension ideas for the classroom or storytime.
This twisted take on The Three Little Pigs is sure to be popular with children.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for this honest review

[Beverly Manring · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given an advance digital book in exchange for an honest opinion. I found the book to be absorbing the author chose brightly colored pages. all the while teaching counting in a series of short nonsensical easy-to-read stories using the limitless number of pigs in different situations. lined up on the abacus, appear as one for each day of the week, one for each month of the year, then 26 lined up in alphabetical order, each ever increasing the number of little pigs. Finally, floating in a bowl of cereal, all written from the wolf’s point of view.and each abruptly ending with I ate them. Lastly, one expects it to end I ate them but finishes with he was full.. The author definitely uses finesse in the ability to apply so many concepts in such short stories stillkeeping the reader’s attention.Thie bookalso teaches the different parts of a well constructed story.. Yes, I would recommend this book for young readers. Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to review early.

[Whitney · Rating 4 out of 5]

**Thank you to Tundra Books in connection with School Library Journal's Picture Book Palooza for the review copy. This in no way changed my opinion**

This book uses the familiar three little pigs format and twists it to make it about math. The pigs are drawn on an abacus and the story is written between a narrator and the (assumed) child they're telling the story to. It kind of has The Book with No Pages vibes, but math themed.

I didn't like this one at first. I was with the hearer of the story that it was too short and that I wasn't getting a "plot", but as it progressed, it became pretty clever and made some funny jokes here and there. I think this would be a fun read-aloud book for classrooms and libraries or with a parent at bedtime. I don't think it's one a child would necessarily pick up and read on their own. It would be best read to them. Maybe have a child who can read read the parts in red with you.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a hilarious fractured fairytale, as a wolf tries to tell the tale of the 3 Little Pigs. Only from his idealized perspective, all he does is eat them with no intervening difficulties. His listener objects, so the wolf narrator keeps adding pigs, but the stories all boil down to the same thing. Until the end, when there are thousands of pigs, and the wolf falls asleep because he's full. This would be highly entertaining for 1st and 2nd graders, and introduce ideas about story structure, math, the abacus, and more. Despite all the eating in the stories, the pigs are bright and cheery in primary colors while the wolf is mostly a fuzzy dark blob, and there is no blood or illustration of the actual eating. I don't think I would do this for a general family storytime, as I don't think 2 and 3 year-olds would get it. maybe for a storytime that had a lot of older siblings, or skewed towards 5 year olds.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can hear the laughter as you read Too Many Pigs and One Big Bad Wolf aloud! Readers and children alike will be delighted by this story/counting book. At first, the stories are quick. “Once upon a time, there were three little pigs. Then the wolf ate them. THE END.” leads to “Once upon a time, there were twenty nine pigs. The wolf ate one a day for a month…It was February. During a leap year.” and more silly, laugh-out-loud statements. Mixed in with these ridiculous tales are counting (pigs posed on an abacus) and the alphabet (pigs named in alphabetical order.) This creatively illustrated picture book can be read in four different ways: the wolf vs. pig simple story, identifying colors, letters of the alphabet and counting. Kudos to Davide Cali and Marianna Balducci! 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Penguin Random House Canada, Davide Cali and Marianna Balducci for this ARC.

[StoryTimeReadAloud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the "True Story of the Big Bad Wolf" years ago was so original and delightful to me, lo, those many years ago when it came out. This one feels very much in the same vein.

The wolf is NOT the narrator, but sure seems more like the protagonist in this story in that things go well for him.

This story is several TINY stories of the pigs (generally placed on an abacus) being eaten. The wolf eats three, "Oh too short" says the listener. So the story is BRIEFLY told again with another pig. Again, too short. On and on go many eatings of pigs with various complaints of the story not being long enough, pigs being eaten too quickly, the story needing a beginning, middle and end, etc.

The text is a back and forth between the narrator and the listener, with each of their turns being in their own font color.

Quite clever.

[Christie Kaaland · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun, wacky counting-concept book by Italian writer, graphic designer Davide Cali and illustrator, Marianna Balducci. Metafiction at its best: in images, the pigs line up on an abacus and dialogue (in red, seeking a good story from the off-page wolf (in black print). Each page the wolf increases the number of pigs, but ending each with a devouring tale of eaten pork. As the story (and number of pigs) increases, the wolf sidles up to the abacus and climbs toward the pigs, until the pigs have had enough and turn away. Well! This of course makes the wolf beseech the pigs for their attention, but the pigs have had it and the story ends with an even more "gigantic" number of pigs finally exhausting the wolf. A fun play-with-numbers counting book that strategically integrates different math building skills.

[Bunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review

I'm learning that fourth wall break children's books are my favorite to read out loud.

I try to give these a one-over before I read them to Jeremiah, since ARCs can have formatting issues. I saw that it was a conversation book, where the narrator tells the story and presumably a small child offers complaint. I thought this was going to be a lot of fun.

Turns out, Jeremiah was not a fan. I'm not sure where I lost him, but the funny just...didn't line up for him.

It really is super cute. A dozen version of The Three Little Pigs, each one less satisfying to the unseen child. And as we go along, the more pigs, and the more outlandish we get.

Maybe Jeremiah was just grumpy.

[Paola Mercado · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was a little confusing to me. It is a counting story that gives “The Three Little Pigs” a twist to mainly make the story a little longer. The story entitles the wolf to try to make the story longer, but he really doesn’t like it because he is more concerned about eating the pigs. I really enjoyed how at the end after trying different ways to make the story longer, it ends with the wolf taking a nap instead. I just thought it was funny because in the last part he would eventually get full of eating so many pigs and would end up getting sleepy. I think this would be a good book for students in 1st through 5th grade and would be good when learning about the importance of counting or even giving a twist in a specific story.

[Calista · Rating 1 out of 5]

This story was really not my humor. It just wasn't the story for me. This is a retelling of the 3 little pigs and the Big bad wolf. It's a children's book of short stories. Each page is another story. The setup, we see a certain amount of pigs. The author tells us how many and then the wolf eats them. Each page is just more pigs and different ways the pigs are eaten.

The humor is very dark and I like dark humor, but this didn't do anything for me.

The artwork is digital and set up like an abacus. It's bright and colorful and not violent, no blood. I didn't really care much for the artwork either.

I'm sure this will tickle a certain type of funny bone out there. Know your kids.

[Theediscerning · Rating 5 out of 5]

More of this, please. For fans of those books that deconstruct stories, and go all meta and have people interject from 'off camera', this concerns someone who wants a story, and someone who only knows how to tell tales of a wolf eating pigs, and that in the bluntest, least satisfying way possible. The pigs here are represented by beads on an abacus, until they get just too many to mention, so there is some number fun as well as the suitably bonkers ability of the story to interrupt itself and present itself in such a delirious way. Such a clever design idea adds popping colour to the page, and it's just a joy from start to end. Unless you're one of the pigs, that is.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely adds a different spin to the traditional version of the Three Little Pigs. The commentary between the narrator and the reader make for a great literary example for author's craft. Each math concept lends to the possibility for great math talk in the classroom and could lead to many inquiry projects. The "short" stories with varying degrees of detail have great potential for learning about story elements as many young writers begin their writerly lives.

Outside of education, this book is a fun book that will produce some giggles for sure from its younger readers as they join the book's reader in encouraging the narrator to tell a real story.

[Jamie Loves Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book is a huge hit with my 4 abs 6 year old. Immediately after reading my 4 year old daughter asked we read it again.

Starts with the story of the three little pigs but the wolf just immediately eats them, in kid fashion the response in the book is too short, so each page the author/narrator of the story keeps adding. There is such great simple humor that my kids and I just loved reading.

Our favorite part we're the illustrations, looking for small details on each page. We loved seeing what the wolf was up to and what silly pigs were added next.

5 stars for both kid enjoyment but also enjoyable for a parent to read. Love it