My Lucky Day

Written & illustrated by Keiko Kasza

Children’s Picture Book: K-3

Stars: 5 (out of 5)

Summary: One day a piglet knocks on the fox’s door “accidentally.” The fox makes preparations to cook the piglet, but the pig comes up with excuses to prolong the cooking, until finally, the fox passes out from exhaustion and the pig escapes.

            While this story could be related to that of the three little pigs, it is very different. The characters are the same, which could be helpful for beginning readers. This is a story about the ways in which a pig outsmarts a fox. It’s quite funny because originally the fox thinks that it is his “lucky day” when the piglet arrives on his front doorstep. In the end, things have drastically changed, as the piglet “escapes” from the fox, claiming that it must be his “lucky day.” Instead of the fox triumphing in the end, as is the case in the three little pigs, the piglet is the one who walks away having gained something from the fox. As the pattern of the piglet prolonging his roast continues to occur, students will want to keep reading to find out just how the piglet will outsmart the fox next.

            This would be a story to use in conjunction with several of the other various three little pig tales. It is just yet another perspective of the relationship between the fox and a pig that is not often told. Since students will have familiarity with the characters, pig and fox, they will have a strong sense of background knowledge from which to build upon. For younger students, this is simply a fun story to read, one that has very interesting characters and a story line or plot that moves fluidly. For older students, it might be a book to use as a springboard for their own writing, as the story ends with the pig visiting the bear’s house. Students could create their own story about that experience, modeled after this one.

            Overall, this is probably one of my favorite children’s books that I have read over the course of the semester, for I found it very interesting and well written. Even as an adult, I wanted to continue turning the pages to find out just how the piglet continued to outsmart the fox.