Lowell, S. (199). The three little javelinas. Ill. by Jim Harris. Flagstaff, AZ: Rising Moon. ISBN 0873585429

PLOT SUMMARY

The Three Little Javelinas is a southwestern variant of the ever so popular folktale, Three Little Pigs. In this adaptation the story begins “once upon a time” in a desert where three little javelinas are lead down three different paths. The first little javelina, which was lazy, quickly found himself building material and decided to build his house of tumbleweeds. Within a short time frame along comes a magical hungry coyote. He calls out to the little pig, “little pig, little pig, let me come in.” The pug replies no of course. The coyote is left with no other choice but to blow down his house, and he did just that. The little javelina books it to the second brothers’ house, which the brother had walked for some time when he came across saguaro ribs, long sticks, and decides to build his house out of that material. Low and behold here comes the coyote and blows down the second little javelinas' home. The two little javelinas run to the third sibling’s home, which was made out of adobe. The relentless coyote once again tries to blow down her house, but was unsuccessful. As a result, the coyote devises a plan and use his magic to get into the house. Unfortunately for him the three little javelinas were waiting for him with a boiling pot of water as he came through the stove pipe. In the end the three little javelinas live happily ever after, and as for the coyote, was left unsatisfied. 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The author Susan Lowell provides a mixture of cultures with the setting and characters throughout the book. As the folktale takes place in a desert the characters are javelinas, a coyote, and a Native American woman. In addition the illustration had humor to the south west culture such as the cowboy hat, the boots, bandana, and the guitar. A twist in the characters is where the female sibling is the clever one of the three as she builds her house of adobe, in the end saving their lives.

REVIEW EXCERPT (S)

-BOOKLIST (1993) “Harris’ illustrations are appealing and humorous, however, and children who loved the original will enjoy this version.”

-SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (1997) “The text is fast-paced and witty in both languages, and is accompanied by energetic, full-page illustrations done in rich earthy tones that evoke the setting as faithfully as the text.”

-HORN BOOK (1997) “Harris's expressive illustrations bring these hairy creatures and their desert home to life.”

-Grand Canyon Reader Award (1994)

CONNECTIONS

Students could use a Venn diagram as they compare and contrast this story with any of the following stories:

Seibert, Patricia. THE THREE LITTLE PIGS.ISBN 9781577683674

Kimmel, Eric. THE THREE LITTLE TAMALES. ISBN 9780761455196