Horn Book Review
These four books (more to come) appear in a uniform paper-over-board edition. Galdone was a refreshingly modest illustrator: his retellings are straightforward and his unassumingly loose-lined, color-separated pictures provide just enough embellishment, as when the lazy cat in The Little Red Hen lolls on the couch, dreaming of sardines. Plenty of white space gives the stories all the room they need. [Review covers these titles: The Little Red Hen, The Three Bears, Three Little Kittens, and The Three Little Pigs.] (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Blegvad offers a classic retelling of the story, complete with the wolf trying to trick the surviving pig after failing to blow down his house. Not to be missed are the meticulous, touched with color pen-and-ink drawings scaled to the book's small size. Galdone's version, similar to Blegvad's retelling, has a lighthearted air as the result of his jocular cartoon drawings, which never dwell on the tale's darker elements. Bucknall's book is a distinct contrast to both in mood, appearance, and content. The story has been adapted so that all three piglets survive. Told in rhyme, it also has a comic edge both in the telling and the illustrations. An enjoyable alternative to the somberness common to the more traditional version.
