Fans pick 81 books like The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs

By Jon Scieszka, Lane Smith (illustrator),

Here are 81 books that The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs fans have personally recommended if you like The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Battle Bunny

Frans Vischer Author Of Fuddles

From my list on children’s books that tickled my toes.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a child I’ve loved comedy. Whether it’s Daffy Duck, the Pink Panther movies, or a Carl Hiaasen novel, I like to laugh and make people laugh. I grew up drawing cartoons, and as a Disney animator I learned the importance of creating characters that audiences could believe and empathize with. Humor has no geographic, religious, or racial boundaries – the human condition is universal, and humor speaks to us all, regardless of language. I strive to write and draw characters that connect with readers and then put them in silly, odd but believable situations to extract the maximum entertainment.

Frans' book list on children’s books that tickled my toes

Frans Vischer Why did Frans love this book?

I love this concept of a boy turning a saccharine, boring picture book called Birthday Bunny into Battle Bunny. A pencil his weapon of choice, he attacks the book, driven by his creativity, and turns it into a book he actually wants to read. A daring idea from the author, this hilarious and engaging book is something any young boy can relate to.

By Jon Scieszka, Mac Barnett, Matt Myers (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Battle Bunny as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

Encourage creativity with this wildly entertaining picture book mash-up from the minds of Jon Scieszka and Mac Barnett.

Alex has been given a saccharine, sappy, silly-sweet picture book about Birthday Bunny that his grandma found at a garage sale. Alex isn’t interested—until he decides to make the book something he’d actually like to read. So he takes out his pencil, sharpens his creativity, and totally transforms the story!

Birthday Bunny becomes Battle Bunny, and the rabbit’s innocent journey through the forest morphs into a supersecret mission to unleash an evil plan—a plan that only Alex can stop.

Featuring layered, original…


Book cover of Max Spaniel: Dinosaur Hunt

Frans Vischer Author Of Fuddles

From my list on children’s books that tickled my toes.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a child I’ve loved comedy. Whether it’s Daffy Duck, the Pink Panther movies, or a Carl Hiaasen novel, I like to laugh and make people laugh. I grew up drawing cartoons, and as a Disney animator I learned the importance of creating characters that audiences could believe and empathize with. Humor has no geographic, religious, or racial boundaries – the human condition is universal, and humor speaks to us all, regardless of language. I strive to write and draw characters that connect with readers and then put them in silly, odd but believable situations to extract the maximum entertainment.

Frans' book list on children’s books that tickled my toes

Frans Vischer Why did Frans love this book?

Charming artwork, with a touch of the silly, like all of Catrow’s books. Catrow gets into the head of his adorable mutt main character as he searches the house and backyard, coming up with all sorts of household and garden items that have no remote connection to dinosaurs. Undaunted, our hero continues his search, interpreting tools and toys for dino body parts, until miraculously his creature comes to life!

By David Catrow,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Max Spaniel as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Max Spaniel considers himself a dinosaur hunter and finds all sorts of objects in his back yard as proof that they exist.


Book cover of Crankenstein

Frans Vischer Author Of Fuddles

From my list on children’s books that tickled my toes.

Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a child I’ve loved comedy. Whether it’s Daffy Duck, the Pink Panther movies, or a Carl Hiaasen novel, I like to laugh and make people laugh. I grew up drawing cartoons, and as a Disney animator I learned the importance of creating characters that audiences could believe and empathize with. Humor has no geographic, religious, or racial boundaries – the human condition is universal, and humor speaks to us all, regardless of language. I strive to write and draw characters that connect with readers and then put them in silly, odd but believable situations to extract the maximum entertainment.

Frans' book list on children’s books that tickled my toes

Frans Vischer Why did Frans love this book?

This is a wonderful study into the self-centered, alternately angry/happy mind of children. Boldly illustrated with a touch of whimsy and great ambiance, and Berger’s simple, clever text with a sweet ending, it’s spot-on for kids to relate to, and for parents trying to understand their kids. 

By Samantha Berger, Dan Santat (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Crankenstein as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

He may look like any ordinary boy, but when faced with a rainy day, a melting popsicle, or an early bedtime, one little boy transforms into a mumbling, grumbling Crankenstein! When Crankenstein meets his match in a fellow Crankenstein, the results could be catastrophic-or they could be just what he needs to brighten his day! As evidenced by the success of books like Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, the popularity of thematic mash-ups in picture books is on the rise. Crankenstein's combination of emotion and monster themes has certain kid and parent-appeal and plenty of promotional opportunities, come Halloween and throughout…


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Book cover of Beneath the Veil

Beneath the Veil By Martin Kearns,

The Valor of Valhalla series by Martin Kearns is a pulse-pounding dark urban fantasy trilogy that fuses the raw power of Norse mythology with the grit of modern warfare. Set in a world where ancient gods and mythical creatures clash with secret military organizations and rogue heroes, the series follows…

Book cover of The Essential Calvin and Hobbes

Annie Barrows Author Of The Best of Iggy

From my list on classic heroes with poor impulse control.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am the author of The Best of Iggy, which is the first in a series of middle-grade books about nine-year-old Iggy Frangi, who never met an impulse he didn’t like, and therefore is often in trouble with cold, calculating types like, for instance, grownups. In Iggy’s opinion—and mine—he is creative, brave, resourceful, hardworking, and absolutely full to the brim of good intentions. He’s also really really sorry about the thing he did to his teacher. He thought it would be funny. But it wasn’t. He knows that now, and he’ll never do it again. Though he’ll probably do something else. Oh well. At least he has the following heroes for company.

Annie's book list on classic heroes with poor impulse control

Annie Barrows Why did Annie love this book?

Everyone should spend 30 minutes each day admiring Calvin and Hobbes, the best comic strip ever made.

Calvin is one of the truly magnificent heroes of children’s literature, an embodiment of all the imaginative and moral power that kids have and grownups don’t.

His best friend, Hobbes, is a profound thinker as well as an intermittently alive stuffed tiger, and together they live, squabbling and happy, in their own crazed world, triumphing over parents, teachers, and other authorities with dazzling illogic and hairbreadth escapes to other realities, much more interesting than this one, where you can evade chores by traveling into a future when they’ve already been done or mysteriously shrink to the size of an insect and wreak revenge on bullies.

By Bill Watterson,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Essential Calvin and Hobbes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

The award-winning cartoonist details the further adventures of Calvin, a mischievous young boy with boundless energy and imagination, and his lovable stuffed tiger.


Book cover of Wordy Birdy

Jennifer Carson Author Of Dragons Don't Dance Ballet

From my list on teaching great life lessons without being preachy.

Why am I passionate about this?

We tell stories for many reasons, but one of the best reasons is to teach our kids (or remind ourselves!) how to navigate in the world. We’ve all read Aesop’s Fables and at the end, the moral lesson is spelled out. This ruins the conversations you can have with someone else about what the story was about. Instead of feeling entertained, we feel like we were being told what to think and how to feel. As a writer, I love to include multiple themes in a book so that, depending on the age of the reader, or how many times the story is read, new ideas jump out of the book and into your brain.

Jennifer's book list on teaching great life lessons without being preachy

Jennifer Carson Why did Jennifer love this book?

I like to chat, and like most other people, whether it’s because I’m thinking about something else, or busy, or just simply not paying attention, sometimes I “listen,” but I don’t “hear.” Wordy Birdy is a fun read with a great reminder about why it is so important to listen to others and pay attention to our surroundings. 

By Tammi Sauer, Dave Mottram (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Wordy Birdy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meet Wordy Birdy, a very chatty bird who talks WAY more than she listens! A hilarious new story from Tammi Sauer, beloved author of Nugget & Fang, Chicken Dance, and My Alien.

Wordy Birdy LOVES to talk. “Hello, sunrise. Hello, pink sky. Hello, orange sky!” But does she love to listen? NOPE. One day, while she’s walking through the forest, her gift of the gab gets her into hot water: “That’s a pretty tree and that’s a pretty tree and that’s a pretty danger sign and that’s a pretty tree. . . .” Will this inattentive bird walk right into…


Book cover of The Errant Knight

Jennifer Carson Author Of Dragons Don't Dance Ballet

From my list on teaching great life lessons without being preachy.

Why am I passionate about this?

We tell stories for many reasons, but one of the best reasons is to teach our kids (or remind ourselves!) how to navigate in the world. We’ve all read Aesop’s Fables and at the end, the moral lesson is spelled out. This ruins the conversations you can have with someone else about what the story was about. Instead of feeling entertained, we feel like we were being told what to think and how to feel. As a writer, I love to include multiple themes in a book so that, depending on the age of the reader, or how many times the story is read, new ideas jump out of the book and into your brain.

Jennifer's book list on teaching great life lessons without being preachy

Jennifer Carson Why did Jennifer love this book?

This beautifully illustrated book gently teaches that an act of kindness is always returned ten-fold. While my youngest child may not understand the biggest lesson in this book until he reads it to his own children, he did understand that helping others is always a good deed, and that sometimes we have to delay fulfilling our own wants and put others before ourselves. I read this book to my children over and over again, not only because we loved knights and tales of medieval times, but because the book has so much heart and soul in it, that it begs to be taken off the shelf.

By Ann Tompert, Doug Keith (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Errant Knight as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is the tale of a brave knight who sets out one day to serve his King. But as he rides toward the castle, frightened travelers seek the knight's aid and protection. Though he resists, something inside will not allow him to refuse. He presses on, but his mission is delayed again and again as the knight stops to help those in need.

Has he been loyal to the King by following his heart, or has he been an errant knight after all?


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Book cover of Caesar’s Soldier

Caesar’s Soldier By Alex Gough,

Who was the man who would become Caesar's lieutenant, Brutus' rival, Cleopatra's lover, and Octavian's enemy? 

When his stepfather is executed for his involvement in the Catilinarian conspiracy, Mark Antony and his family are disgraced. His adolescence is marked by scandal and mischief, his love affairs are fleeting, and yet,…

Book cover of The Sea Lion's Friend

Jennifer Carson Author Of Dragons Don't Dance Ballet

From my list on teaching great life lessons without being preachy.

Why am I passionate about this?

We tell stories for many reasons, but one of the best reasons is to teach our kids (or remind ourselves!) how to navigate in the world. We’ve all read Aesop’s Fables and at the end, the moral lesson is spelled out. This ruins the conversations you can have with someone else about what the story was about. Instead of feeling entertained, we feel like we were being told what to think and how to feel. As a writer, I love to include multiple themes in a book so that, depending on the age of the reader, or how many times the story is read, new ideas jump out of the book and into your brain.

Jennifer's book list on teaching great life lessons without being preachy

Jennifer Carson Why did Jennifer love this book?

Everyone needs a good friend and often when we make a new friend it invites others into our lives as well. This sweet rhyming book teaches a great lesson about what makes a good friend—and it’s not because they look just like you and like doing all the things you like doing—but revels in the differences that make each friend unique and celebrates the things friends do share in common. 

By Ed Shankman, Dave O'Neill (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Sea Lion's Friend as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

The Sea Lion's Friend is the tale of an unlikely friendship between a sea lion and a sea gull--two inseparable buddies who do all kinds of fun things together. Readers will be touched by this tale of best friendship. As with all Shankman & O'Neill books, the bouncing, Seussian rhymes and colorful illustrations make this a story to read again and again!


Book cover of The Dirty Cowboy

Jennifer Carson Author Of Dragons Don't Dance Ballet

From my list on teaching great life lessons without being preachy.

Why am I passionate about this?

We tell stories for many reasons, but one of the best reasons is to teach our kids (or remind ourselves!) how to navigate in the world. We’ve all read Aesop’s Fables and at the end, the moral lesson is spelled out. This ruins the conversations you can have with someone else about what the story was about. Instead of feeling entertained, we feel like we were being told what to think and how to feel. As a writer, I love to include multiple themes in a book so that, depending on the age of the reader, or how many times the story is read, new ideas jump out of the book and into your brain.

Jennifer's book list on teaching great life lessons without being preachy

Jennifer Carson Why did Jennifer love this book?

One word: hilarious! In typical tall tale fashion, The Dirty Cowboy teaches a humorous lesson about keeping our body clean. As the mother of 4 boys, it was easy to draw parallels in my children’s lives and the cowboy in the book in order to coax them into the bathtub…even if it would take a good roll in the dirt the next day to get the dog to recognize them again.

By Amy Timberlake,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Dirty Cowboy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

This ol' boy needs a bath!

After he finds a tumbleweed in his chaps and the numerous bugs buzzing around him affect his hearing, the cowboy decides it's time to head to the river. Once there, he peels off all his clothes and tells his trusty old dog to guard them against strangers. He takes a refreshing bath and emerges clean as corn – but so fresh-smelling that his dog doesn't recognize him! Negotiations over the return of the clothes prove fruitless. A wrestling match ensues in a tale that grows taller by the sentence, climaxing in a fabric-speckled dust…


Book cover of The Three Questions

Salma Hasan Ali Author Of BenchTalk: Wisdoms Inspired in Nature

From my list on stories that make you feel connected to humanity.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a “storyseeker” as much as a storyteller. I love hearing people’s ordinary and extraordinary stories; they inspire and motivate me and make me feel hopeful. I think our stories are the most precious things we have, and our greatest legacy. They help us understand each other better and connect us to people we may otherwise never get to meet. That’s why I wrote a book of personal stories called 30 Days: Stories of Gratitude, Traditions, and Wisdom and a 30 Days Journal that helps people record their own stories, by answering a prompt each day for a month. For a nonprofit I help lead called KindWorks, my title is CIO—Chief Inspiration Officer!

Salma's book list on stories that make you feel connected to humanity

Salma Hasan Ali Why did Salma love this book?

Sometimes the answers to our most profound questions can be found in children’s books.

I often find myself turning to this book, based on a story by Leo Tolstoy, when I’m feeling overwhelmed with the enormity of the world’s problems and my sense of inadequacy to do anything to help. The three timeless questions that are posed and answered in this book give me clarity and direction to keep moving forward, the best I can.

By Jon J. Muth,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Three Questions as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Based on a story by Leo Tolstoy. When young Nikolai seeks counsel from Leo, the wise old turtle who lives in the mountains, he is sure Leo will know the answers to his three questions. When is the best time to do things? Who is the most important one? What is the right thing to do? But it is Nikolai's own response to a stranger's cry for help that leads him directly to the answers he is looking for. Jon J Muth combined his studies of Zen with his love of Tolstoy to create this profound yet simple book about…


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Book cover of Curiosity and the Cat

Curiosity and the Cat By Martin Treanor,

Curiosity is certain she saw fairies at the bottom of the garden. Little does she know . . . they saw her first.

Emotionally abandoned by her mother and infatuated by a figurine of a fairy ballerina she discovers in an old toy shop, eight-year-old Curiosity Portland steals the figurine,…

Book cover of The Three Golden Keys

Maxine Rose Schur Author Of Finley Finds His Fortune

From my list on children’s stories with the magic of three.

Why am I passionate about this?

I teach writing for children and I’ve analyzed the elements that make a winning story. One of these elements is the magic of three. My idea for Finley Finds his Fortune, was sparked by a desire to write a folk tale with the magic of three and also by my visit to Whitechurch, the last working watermill in England. I was awed by the power and beauty of its water wheel so I wove a water mill into my story. To do this, I had to first study how a mill works. That’s what I love about writing children’s booksthat I can explore my own personal interests and passions.

Maxine's book list on children’s stories with the magic of three

Maxine Rose Schur Why did Maxine love this book?

Peter Sis is an acclaimed international writer, artist, and filmmaker. He’s created several award-winning children’s books. In The Three Golden Keys, Sis recaptures his lost childhood in Prague and takes the reader on a dark, mysterious adventure through Prague to find the three keys that will unlock the three rusty padlocks of his childhood home and of his own childhood memories.

I like his art more than his storytelling which is often so personal as to be cryptic. So why am I recommending this book? Because his illustrations of Prague are so beautifully detailed, surreal, and mysterious. It’s a work of art that’s personal, poignant, and poetic. It’s a gorgeous book but perhaps enjoyed by adults more than children.

By Peter Sis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Three Golden Keys as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“The Three Golden Keys” is professional contortionist Samuel Palmer’s method of correcting and maintaining perfect body alignment, which enables him to continue to perform at top physical condition. It is a technique for reconfiguring the body’s neuromuscular patterns to enable one to achieve the greatest precision and efficiency in both posture and movement. These principles of alignment are based in geometry and are demonstrated mathematically to show the definition of correct alignment. This information serves as the ideal foundation for all forms of physical training, as well as basic health care.


Book cover of Battle Bunny
Book cover of Max Spaniel: Dinosaur Hunt
Book cover of Crankenstein

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