Three Little Cajun Pigs by Mike Artell

Three Little Cajun Pigs review by Sarah Bartholomew 

 1. Bibliography

Artell, Mike, and Jim Harris. Three Little Cajun Pigs. New York, NY: Dial Books for Young Readers, 2006.

ISBN 9780803728158

2. Plot Summary

Three Little Cajun Pigs is a Louisiana twist on the classic folktale. Like the well-known story, The Three Little Pigs Mama Pigs sends her three sons off to build houses of their own. The first builds his out of straw, the second builds his of sticks, and the third builds his house out of brick. However, this story does not have a Big Bad Wolf who blows their houses down. In this version, the pigs’ houses must withstand the smack of an alligator’s tail. The house of straw and the house of sticks fall, but the house of bricks stands strong. The alligator then decides to go down the chimney and his tail is burned by not a stew but a roux! These three pigs are more forgiving than those of other versions because instead of eating the villain, they simply force him to leave. The first two pigs build brick houses of their own and presumably live happily ever after. 

3. Critical Analysis

This is a fun twist on a common folktale. There is a glossary in the front of the book with Cajun and French terms that are used in the story to help the reader with pronunciation and of course the definitions. The grammar and text of the book are written so that it must be read with a bit of tang to give the reader a better idea of how they speak in Louisiana. Rather than a Big Bad Wolf, there is a big gator named Ol’ Claude. There are Cajun elements sprinkled throughout the story to give it a unique revamping. The illustrations are done in watercolors to give it that classic Fairytale/Folktale tone. This is a fun retelling of the classic story. 

4. Review Excerpt(s)

From Kirkus Review: “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.”

From School Library Journal: “A hilarious version of the familiar tale.”

5. Connections

Gather other works by Mike Artell

Petite Rouge ISBN 9780142500705

The Really Weird Jungle ISBN 9780991089475

Gather other versions of The Three Pigs

Laverde, Arlene. Alaska’s Three Pigs. ISBN 9781570612299

Lowell, Susan. The Three Little Javelinas. ISBN 9780873585422

Schwartz, Corey Rosen. The Three Ninja Pigs. ISBN 9780399255144

Gather other Cajun retellings

Artell, Mike. Petite Rouge ISBN 9780142500705

Fleming, Candace. Gator Gumbo. ISBN 9780374380502

Kadair, Deborah Ousley. The Was an Ol’ Cajun. ISBN 9781565549173