Three Cajun Little Pigs

 Bibliography:

Artell, Mike. 2006. THREE LITTLE CAJUN PIGS. Ill. by Jim Harris New York: Dial Books For Young Readers. ISBN 0803728158.

Plot Summary:

In Mike Artell's, Three Cajun Little Pigs, this a humorous retelling of the classic tale about the three pigs. The story begins with the mama pig telling her boys that it is time for them to leave home. The pigs, Troosclair, Thibodeaux, and Ulysse, pack their things and set off to find a house. As you read the story, you read how each pig builds their house.  Now the twist to this tale is that if you are familiar with Louisiana and its swamps, alligators are sure to be seen. So Mr. Artell has written our somewhat beloved antagonist as an alligator.  "An' speaking' of gators, not too far away, somebody was watching' dem little pigs play. Ol' Claude, dat big gator, was in de bayou." Mr. Artell follows the story as it has been told in the past but he does make it funny and interesting with the dialect and rhyming. Claude the gator gets to live but not without experiencing some pain.

Critical Analysis:

Mr. Artell, a native of Louisiana writes in the often misunderstood dialect of the South; using rhyme to make the story funny. What piqued my interest about this story was the title. Inserting the word, 'cajun' into a story that I have read many times made me wonder how could it be different from the traditional version.  I can tell you that when I turned to the first page, I noticed how Mr. Artell writes certain words in the dialect of people who live in Louisiana. For example, "t'ree"(three), "dem"(them), and "dat"(that) are just a few examples of words that you will come across in the story. As someone who has family and friends with Louisiana roots, I definitely could relate to the writing. It is because of this dialectal writing that Mr. Artell also has some rhyming in the story.  It is pronounced but subtle. The illustrations are watercolor and pencil giving them a soft look.  The colors standout but they go with the words in a sense of easy, laidback manner. 

Review Excerpt(s):

PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY review: "A sassy, spicy outing."

KIRKUS REVIEWS: "Harris’s playful and detailed watercolor and pencil illustrations heighten the quirky humor of Artell’s rhyming verse, which is characterized by heavy, but accessible, Cajun dialect."

Connections:

This story would be good to use for discussing plot and the stages.  This story is also a great example for introducing dialect in literature.

Other children's books that contain different dialect:

Ketterman, Helen. THE CHRISTMAS BLIZZARD. ISBN 0590136097

Raschka, Chris. YO! YES?. ISBN 0545258936

*The words written in this review are my own and have been created as a part of a graduate studies class at Sam Houston State University.