This picture book begins placidly (and familiarly) enough, with three pigs collecting materials and going off to build houses of straw, sticks, and bricks. But the wolf's huffing and puffing blows the first pig right out of the story ...and into the realm of pure imagination. The transition signals the start of a freewheeling adventure with characteristic David Wiesner effects-cinematic flow, astonishing shifts of perspective, and sly humour, as well as episodes of flight. Satisfying both as a story and as an exploration of the nature of story, 'The Three Pigs' takes visual narrative to a new level. Dialogue balloons, text excerpts, and a wide variety of illustration styles guide the reader through a dazzling fantasy universe to the surprising and happy ending. Fans of Tuesday's frogs and Sector 7's clouds will be captivated by old friends - the Three Pigs of nursery fame and their companions-in a new guise. AGES: 4-7 years AUTHOR David Wiesner's interest in visual storytelling dates back to high school days when he made silent movies and drew wordless comic books. He graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. While a student, he created a painting nine feet long, which he now recognises as the genesis of 'Free Fall', his first book of his own authorship, for which he was awarded a Caldecott Honor Medal in 1989. David won his first Caldecott Medal in 1992 for Tuesday, and he has gone on to win twice more: in 2002 for 'The Three Pigs' and in 2007 for 'Flotsam'. He is only the second person in the award's history to win the Caldecott Medal three times.