The Three Little Javelinas /Los tres pequeños
jabalíes
Book Review:
This story is a southwestern adaptation to The Three Little Pigs.
It involves three javelinas, which are distant cousins of pigs, who
are dressed in cowboy attire. It takes place in the Sonoran Desert.
Instead of the big bad wolf, there is a tricky coyote who follows the
javelinas and wants to eat them with red chile sauce. Each javelina
builds a house of something that fits right into the southwest environment.
The first javelina builds a house of tumbleweeds, but the coyote comes
and blows it down in no time. He runs to his brother who has built a
house of saguaro sticks. The javelinas didn't know it but the coyote
followed them and blew that house down, too. Both javelinas ran to their
sister who had a house of adobe brick. The coyote showed at her doorstep,
but the javelinas outsmarted the coyote that time.
The author's note includes information about the Tohono O'odham Reservation.
Traditionally, these native people built their homes of brush, sticks,
and mud. They continue to tell tales about coyotes who are often outsmarted
by other animals. Throughout the book there are pronounciation guides
for the different words of used in the southwest; for example, saguaros
(sa-WA-ros). This version of The Three Little Pigs is a great
way to tell the familiar tale and adapt it to where we live.
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