For the Joy of Reading

     As a child, I loved having the story of "The Three Little Pigs" read to me. I begged to have that story read to me over and over again. It was a must read, especially at bedtime. I also enjoyed many others like, "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs" by Jon Scieszka, and "The Three Pigs" by David Weisner.  Even though, I love all of these books, and recommend them to anyone, I would like to make mention of one special book. That book is called, "The Three Little Javelinas".

    "The Three Little Javelinas" was written by Susan Lowell and illustrated by Jim Harris. This book shares an American Southwest version of the three little pigs. Susan used two written languages to tell the story, both of which are written in each copy.  I thought that it was such an amazing idea to incorporate two languages into one book, because I had never seen two written languages in one single children's book before. Not only could it be read in one language, but it could also be shared in another, or even both at the same time. What a great way to unite diverse cultures and backgrounds, in the classroom! This book has been written so well that it could entertain children ages 3-8 years old. That's a HUGE age range, in terms of early child development, and for teachers interested in bringing this book into their classrooms.   
     If this book were read to kids, who had never visited the west before, they would most definitely get an idea of what it is like out here. I was born and raised in the west. It's very dry and very hot, especially during the Summer. The illustrations did an excellent job in portraying that heat and dryness, in this book. I have to give Jim Harris two thumbs up for that! The illustrations are absolutely beautiful. He did a marvelous job on making the javelinas come to life, and even that coyote. Yes, there is no wolf in this story. Instead, we have a coyote who wants to feast on those little javelinas for dinner. It's such a great book! If you haven't read it, you need to! Add it to your library, and share it with your kids. They will laugh, and they will be routing for those javelinas to get away from that blasted coyote. It is such a joy to see that excitement in our kids' little faces, as we read to them. :)

     I would love to have your classroom libraries grow, if you would like to see more of my favorite books, please click here. Thanks for stopping by the "ACC", and for taking the time to read this post. Now hurry! Go grab a book and read, read, read to your kids. Thanks again! Hope to see you soon, on the other side of "blog-land".