THREE LITTLE PIGS and THE BIG BAD WOLF

``I love you all,'' says the old sow at the beginning of this adaptation by a master whose good sense is never fettered by convention, ``but you are now big enough to...make homes for yourselves.'' And so they do, burrowing into handy piles of straw or sticks instead of making implausible constructions from a man's single load. From there, the events (but not the language) follow Jacobs (minus the apple tree incident), right down to the third pig polishing off the wolf for his supper. We didn't know the story needed retelling, but Rounds's version is grand—fresh, lively, true to the spirit of the original, and perfect for sharing aloud. His bold lines are brushed in with a sure hand that's a lot subtler than it may seem; the gaunt down-home critters go about their business in a setting suggested as much by a bit of exquisitely observed color as by the odd deft line. Vigorous, angular type is the perfect complement. (Folklore/Picture book. 4-8)