The Three Little Superpigs (Three Little Superpigs #1)

After putting the Big Bad Wolf away in Happily Never After Prison, the Three Little Pigs become crime-fighting heroes of Fairyland, where readers will see one pig taking a selfie with Red Riding Hood and another giving an autograph to the Gingerbread Man. But then Wolf escapes, and his cunning revenge plan makes it seem almost certain that pigs-in-a-blanket will be on the dinner menu in short order. The action turns out to be an elaborate setup for a joke on "when pigs fly," and the deux ex machina--a trio of jet packs created by the Third Pig (proving once again he's the smartest one)--seems a bit rushed and convenient, even for a spoof. But Evans (The Chicken That Hatched a Cow) is an energetic, pop-culture-savvy storyteller: a smart blend of vignettes and spreads keeps the tale tightly paced, and she cleverly evokes the visual and textual tropes of horror and detective movies (there's even a joke about a menace coming from inside the house). She also has a wonderful way with color, gleefully careening between a happy Candyland palette and chiaroscuro to capture the Wolf at his most nefarious. Ages 4-7. (July)

PreS-Gr 2--The three little superpigs are famous in Fairyland after capturing the Big Bad Wolf and sending him off to Happily Never After Prison. The ever-helpful pigs rebuild Fairyland out of bricks and take up a life fighting crime (we see Goldilocks in handcuffs). Meanwhile, the big bad wolf is plotting his escape--readers see him in prison reading "Bricklaying for Bad Guys." Full of rollicking, silly fun, the cartoon style artwork in highly saturated colors matches the feel of the text and adds a lot of humor: the endpapers are hot pink bricks. The whole book is so goofy that adults will just barely cringe at the last joke "pigs really can fly!" VERDICT A good choice for any fractured fairy tale collection.--Hillary Perelyubskiy, Los Angeles Public Library