Family Moment: The Three Little Rigs by David Gordon

So last week I gained a very great affection for The Three Little Rigs by David Gordon. Why? Family, of course.

About once a month, I take a small suitcase filled with books and puppets and such to visit my sister's family. Kensie and Clark, my niece and nephew, are 6 and 3 years old, so Clark is overall more interested in most of the books and puppets these days since Kensie is aging out on some of the younger books for now. (Not that I ever did.) She loves books, bless her parents who have been literally reading to her every day since the day she was born, and this visit coincided with her birthday. She was as excited about the books I gave her as any of her other gifts. She and I had some fine reading moments that day, too, but this is about Clark this time.

(I found this image of my bag online--this is for sale for a crazy price, but this is what my storytime bag looks like. Lots of fun pockets for treasures and plenty of space for books without breaking my back. I love it and so do the kids.)

Clark is all boy and his attention span is getting shorter although he is a great reader, too. But he likes to be on the move. And he loves, loves, LOVES vehicles of all kinds. So I have peppered my offerings with various books over the last year. In the fall, I added The Three Little Rigs to my bag. We have read it about three times together now. Problem is, I wasn't sure if he was enjoying it. I had removed all of the regular books from my bag to make room for holiday titles. And The Three Little Rigs failed to make it back in the bag this month. I had reshelved it and forgotten it.

So Clark and I read about three books when he went digging in my bag again and looked up at me with a plaintive look in his eyes. "I want the Big Bad Wrecking Ball," he said. I looked back at him blankly for a few seconds before it hit me he was requesting this book. He hadn't had it read to him in over two months, but he remembered it and requested it. I was suddenly just as disappointed as he was that it wasn't in my bag.

So if you have a child in your life who loves, loves, LOVES vehicles I also recommend this one. It is still in print and a reasonable price. David Gordon also wrote Hansel and Diesel and The Ugly Truckling which I didn't own but have now ordered so I have them to share with Clark when I see him again later this month. They are out of print so their prices fluctuate wildly.

And, yes, the first time we read it, Clark understood perfectly well that this was a Three Little Pigs story. He prefers this version though because VEHICLES. I always make sure there are fairy tales on offer in my bag but that isn't all I add. So it is a sweet moment for me when the fairy tales are beloved by the kids, too.

Book description:

"Little rig, little rig, let me come in!"
"Not by the chrome on my chinny chin chin."

"Then I’ll crash and I’ll bash and I’ll smash your house in."

When the three little rigs set out to build their own garages, each one thinks that his is going to be the strongest. But then the big bad wrecking ball comes to call and threatens to smash their new homes to smithereens. The brothers learn that it’s only by bravery and teamwork that they can win the day. A comic sequel to the ugly truckling.