Laissez les bons temps rouler, with Three Little Cajun Pigs

 1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Artell, Mike. 2006. THREE LITTLE CAJUN PIGS.  Ill. by Jim Harris.  New York:  Dial Books for Young Readers. ISBN  0-8037-2815-8 

2. PLOT SUMMARY

THREE LITTLE CAJUN PIGS is a hilarious retelling of the traditional tale of the three little pigs. The setting of this story is South Louisiana, down by the bayou. Three young Cajun pigs are kicked out of their mama’s house, and they are forced to build houses for themselves. Trosclair quickly builds his house from straw.  Thibodeaux soon follows and builds his home from sticks. Then of course, the oldest, Ulysse takes his time and builds his house from bricks. Ol’ Claude, the local gator, soon sees an opportunity for some delicious “couchon de lait.” He uses his big, strong tail to “whack” down the straw house and the stick house.  

When Claude comes to Ulysse’s brick home, he climbs up on the roof and tries to shimmy down the chimney.  The wise, patient pig is cooking a big pot of roux in the fireplace, so the gator burns his tail on the fire and runs off in pain. The big brother pig is hailed as the smartest builder, and Ol’ Claude goes back to the bayou and leaves those Cajun pigs alone.  

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS

The colorful Cajun culture brings this folk story to another level of entertainment!”  The language is somewhat difficult, if the reader is not accustomed to the Cajun dialect.  The words are written phonetically to convey the accent- like “dem two udder pigs,” instead of those two other pigs. 

The characterization is light, with the emphasis being on the age-old plot line. The violence in the conflict between the gator and the pigs is very mild and comical, and therefore, appropriate for a very young audience. 

The lesson and warning against impetuosity is still present, along with the value of family. 

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

KIRKUS review (9/06): “This retelling of the traditional story is Cajun both in language and lesson. Emphasizing devotion to family and extending others the benefit of the doubt, it also conveys the very Cajun notion that there are few situations that cannot be improved with a big pot of gumbo among friends.”

SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL (12/06): “Harris's amusing watercolor-and-pencil illustrations mirror the text with élan; they are full of funny details that beg to be looked at again and again…”

5. CONNECTIONS

*This story can be paired with other Cajun culture pieces, such as: 

Petite Rouge: a Cajun Red Riding Hood or Jacques and De Beanstalk also by Mike Artell or Trosclair and the Alligator by Peter Huggins. 

*Other fun versions of the three little pigs to compare/contrast:

Rubin, Vicky. THE THREE SWINGIN’ PIGS. ISBN 978-0-8050-7335-5

Laverde, Arlene. ALASKA’S THREE PIGS. ISBN 978-1-57061-272-5