The Three Little Superpigs

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. [em](July) [/em]