The Three Little Javelinas

Susan Lowell’s illustrated children’s book, The Three Little Javelinas (1996), is a retelling of the classic fairy tale, The Three Little Pigs, in which three anthropomorphic pig protagonists are antagonized in a sequence by the Big Bad Wolf (leading, in the story’s original form, to the demise of two). The Three Little Javelinas updates this story, following three javelinas, the pig’s evolutionary cousins, recontextualizing it in the Central American desert. The story’s plot mimics but significantly departs from that of its predecessor, utilizing imagery from Native American culture and mythos, and depicting the javelinas as willing to unionize to defeat their oppressor (who is a coyote rather than a wolf).

The Three Little Javelinas begins as the three javelinas, two brothers and a sister, part ways to build their own homes. As he does throughout the story, the narrator interrupts with a teachable moment, teaching readers the pronunciation of “javelina.” The narrator explains that javelinas are different than pigs, but are also very hairy, particularly on their chins. They also contextualize the little javelinas’ southwestern environment, describing groups of humans, including Spanish speakers and the indigenous Native American Desert People.

First, one of the javelina brothers builds a house out of dry desert tumbleweeds; quickly, the coyote emerges and blows it away with a puff of his breath. Panicking, the javelina runs to his brother, who has built a house out of the ribs of the saguaro cactus, indigenous to Central America. The coyote is strong enough to blow away such a structure, and he does. In a last ditch effort to escape the coyote, the two brothers run to their sister’s house. The wisest of the three little javelinas, the sister built her house out of sturdy adobe bricks. When the coyote fails to blow it down, he attempts to climb in through a pipe protruding from the built-in stove. As he descends, the javelinas light a fire in the chimney, setting him on fire. He runs off into the distance, howling.



At the story’s end, the narrator explains that the reason coyotes howl is that they are remembering being burned by the javelinas. A more didactic and cultural adaptation of The Three Little Pigs, The Three Little Javelinas is written to resonate with children less familiar with classic European fairy tale traditions.