Smart Kid: The Three Little Pigs to The Three Little Javelinas

Once upon a time there were three little pigs.  The first little pig built his house of …

I am certain each of you, and your munchkins, can finish the story.  It’s a story that has been retold orally and in books from as far back as the 1840s!

I challenge you to use the storyline that we all know so well of The Three Little Pigs to introduce a new story and new vocabulary to your preschooler/elementary aged little one.  The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell is a great start.  With the great familiarity of the “pigs” storyline, your child will be quick to understand the story (what happens first, second…) as new words are introduced with this rather hilarious Southwestern variation.  A conversation about straw and bricks will easily be replaced with adobe bricks and tumbleweeds.  You can discuss how the coyote is similar to the wolf and how he even shouts, my daughter quickly noticed, “I’ll huffs, and I’ll puff, and I’ll blow your house in!” just like the wolf! Your child will make these texts-to-text connections (Keene and Zimmerman, 1997) and more, with excitement as he/she recognize the similarities and differences between the two stories.  You will see tremendous anticipation to read the next page; I saw it firsthand here. My daughter eagerly predicted what would happen to the tumbleweed house because she remembered, and told me, that the straw one blew down!  It really made reading time so much more fun! I think I’m going to try the Three Hawaiian Pigs and the Magic Shark by DM Laird next!  I think she’ll love it!  Which one will you try?

We’ve heard from every expert out there that reading to your child is a crucial component to early reading skills development.  Now the question, what books should we read?

Here are 10 “Three Little Pigs” type stories to add to your classroom/child’s library:

  1. SuperWhy: The Three Little Pigs, by Angela Santomero
  2. The Three Horrid Pigs, by Liz Pichon
  3. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, by J. Scieszka
  4. The Three Little Pigs and the Fox: An Appalachian Tale, by William Hooks
  5. Three Little Wolves and the Big Bad Pig,by E Trivizas and H Oxenbury
  6. The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell
  7. Pig, Pigger Piggest, by Rick Walton
  8. The Three Little Hawaiian Pigs and the Magic Shark by D M Laird
  9. Yo Hungry Wolf, A Nursery Rap, by David Vozar
  10. The Fourth Little Pig By T Celsi

Citation: Keene, E. O., and Zimmermann, S. (1997). Mosaic of thought: Teaching comprehension in a reader’s workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

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4 thoughts on “Smart Kid: The Three Little Pigs to The Three Little Javelinas

  1. I love pigs! This book looks cute for the kiddos and yes, reading is so imprtant, We do about an hour every day!

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