The Three Little Pigs : An Architectural Tale, retold and illustrated by Steve Guarnaccia
the Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale is the newest picture book/design primer for children from Steven Guarnaccia, former Op-Ed Art Director at the NY Times and current chair of the Illustration Department at Parsons the New School for Design Steven Guarnaccia. As an art school drop-out, (from the Otis College of Art and Design during the decade it partnered with the Parsons School of Design, no less) there is much about this book that appeals to me and inspires me - to learn more about the architect-pigs in the book and think about houses and buildings in a different way. For those of you who share this interest, be sure to visit the Moleskine website where there is a very cool video of one of Steven Guarnaccia's sketchbooks and its contents.

The first little pig takes some scraps and builds The Gehry House, Frank Gehry's own home in Santa Monica, CA. I grew up about a mile down the road from this house and marvelled (and, to be honest, snickered) at it when I passed it as a child. I didn't find out who Frank Gehry was until almost a decade later when I was in college and saw Gehry's Standing Glass Fish sculpture at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and put two and two together - and gained a deeper appreciation for Gehry's vision.
The second pig, Philip Johnson, builds Glass House, in Connecticut, which was completed in 1949.
The wolf, who makes quick work of Gehry and Johnson's houses, moves on to the third little pig, a.k.a Frank Lloyd Wright, and his home, a.k.a Falling Water, which was built in 1934 in Pennsylvania.
Guarnaccia does favor the traditional ending of the Three Little Pigs story in the Three Little Pigs: An Architectural Tale, perhaps to showcase the cool fireplace in Frank Lloyd Wright Pig's hosue!
The story of the three little pigs and their house building adventures makes a great frame to hang this architectural tale on. But, what this story is really about are the designs of the houses, and that is fine with me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading and then researching all the little bits and pieces that go together to make up this book and I think that you and your children will as well!
And, if you happen to love design aesthetics,
don't miss Steve Guarnaccia's