When people talk about The Three Little Pigs, they're usually talking about the ones who ran away from the Big Bad Wolf. Those pigs are obviously iconic figures in children's literature, but they're not the only porky persons that classic novels have provided. Here are three books you've probably heard of that prominently feature walking bacon - and here are some reasons to check them out.
Charlotte’s Web – E. B. White
There’s a reason that this book has remained a classic in classrooms and bedrooms for over seventy years. White has a way of imbuing everything in this story with a sense of magic. When you think of the slop farmers feed to the pigs, or of manure, or of a rat’s nest, or of a hatching spider’s egg…most of us would be revolted rather than riveted. But White pays close attention to each of these throughout the novel. With an unhurried but unwavering pace, he describes each of these in such a way that leaves you feeling that cinnamon-sweet nostalgia for a life that you’ve never even lived. I couldn’t believe myself as I turned the pages of this book, actually envying the life of a pig. White just makes the farm life so appealing – it’s hard not to fall in love with every facet of the world he’s brought us into.
What’s nice about this book beyond the heartwarming nature of the story is the way that it educates its reader without ever letting on that that’s what it’s doing. Kids who read this will learn what unfamiliar words mean, and a whole lot about spiders. But it’s all given to them in a way that feels natural, unforced, and easy. That’s the whole book in a nutshell, I suppose. It’s one of those stories that finds wonder in a wisp of wind, or in the water droplets on a spider’s web. Young or old, you can stand to give this story a shot. I got through it in just a few before-bed reading sessions, and I don’t regret a single minute of it.
Animal Farm – George Orwell
I was able to enjoy this partly because I understand the allegory that Orwell is creating. I wonder if this book would have any appeal to those who do not.
First, let me say that I can’t claim any superiority for knowing the behind-the-scenes for this book, as I was informed well before reading it that it was a critique on Soviet Russia and the empty allure of Communism. Going in with that knowledge, it was easy to pinpoint the big ideas (and even some of the big characters) that Orwell was touching on. I haven’t studied Russian history in the slightest, so beyond their involvement in the Second World War I can’t say I know much about the rise of Communism or the years under Joseph Stalin. That said, the warnings against this form of government have pervaded my upbringing - whether explicitly or implicitly I can’t really remember. As such, I was able to pick up on a lot of what this story was putting down. My only worry is that people who don’t know anything about the USSR wouldn’t get much out of this story. It doesn’t really follow a traditional narrative style – it’s told more like an old fairy tale where the narrator is far away from the characters of the story. Everything is heard from a distance. Many lines of dialogue aren’t said by the characters, but by the narrator who heard the character.
That said, there were still compelling characters even though we were somewhat distanced from them. Boxer was a heroic figure, and the sheep were fairly entertaining. Just don’t go into this book thinking you’re about to read something in the same vein as Charlotte’s Web. Apart from the fact that a pig’s on the cover, they don’t have much else in common.
Lord of the Flies – William Golding
Like many my age, I got the opportunity to interact with this book in high school. Re-reading it over a decade later, I’m convinced that it’s still a highly relevant and engaging read that has earned its place as a topic of discussion for teachers and students. The first couple pages make you think it’s going to follow the narrative and tonal tradition of many jungle adventures we’ve had before. The kids stuck on this tropical island even say that this will be like Treasure Island or Swallows and Amazons, both of which I’ve read before and enjoyed. To its credit, Lord of the Flies has much in common with Swallows and Amazons. Kids are creating their own society and rules, there’s an element of interacting with and trying to master the forces of nature, and we see warring tribes duke it out in a battle for supremacy. However, the main difference that keeps this book from nestling comfortably next to Swallows and Amazons or Treasure Island or The Story of the Treasure Seekers or Tarzan of the Apes is the fact that there’s an astonishing lack of fun in this book. From the moment the first fire goes awry, we learn that on this island there is no forgiveness for nonsense. Everything has a consequence, and every consequence is severe. As we pass from chapter to chapter, things only become bleaker and bleaker. We – like the kids on the island – perhaps naively believed at the beginning of this book that the children might develop a sort of utopian society devoid of adults. Maybe because the grown-ups are away, the bitterness and conflict of adult life will stay away as well.
This book reminds us how monstrous we really can be. That’s a topic that most ‘fun’ reads tend to avoid, and rightly so. But though I’m saying this isn’t a fun book, by no means do I mean that it isn’t engaging. The characters are thoroughly interesting. I constantly found myself wondering how each one was going to respond to the outlandish statements of the next. The fact that they’re kids plays a big role in this. Where a grown-up might hold their tongue or play a more subtle game, these kids wear their hearts on their sleeves at all times. I really enjoyed it. If you’re into stories of island survival, mysterious monsters, and the darkness of man’s heart, this is the book for you.
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