American author Eric A. Kimmel and Argentine illustrator Valeria Docampo join forces in this retelling of the traditional English tale of The Three Little Pigs, transplanted to Texas and given a Latino flavor. Three little tamales run away from the taqueria where they were made, and build houses - one of sagebrush, one of cornstalks, and one of cactus. When Señor Lobo, AKA the Big Bad Wolf, comes along, the first two tamales find their homes destroyed, and they flee to the third's. Here the wolf is thwarted, both in his attempt to blow down the house, and his effort to climb down the chimney...

The Three Little Tamales is the second title I have read from Kimmel and Docampo, following upon their Medio Pollito: A Spanish Tale, which relates a story from Spain. Like that other book, this paired an engaging story with brightly-colored, attention-grabbing illustrations. The story itself is somewhat watered down - the first two tamales escape, rather than being eaten by the wolf, as the pigs were in the original tale, and the wolf himself escapes the cooking pot in the end - making it more palatable, perhaps, for younger children. For my own part, I always have mixed feelings about transplanted fairy and folk-tales, which I think are somewhat different from fractured fairy-tales. In the latter, there is some central aspect of the story that is changed - it is told from the villain's perspective, in some cases - but in the former, the change is largely a cultural or geographic one, and the story remains essentially the same. That is the case here, as the English tale is simply given a Latino skin. There's nothing really wrong with this - such transplants are probably how the diverse variants of specific tale types developed, worldwide - but in a published form it feels disappointing. Folklore is such a diverse and fascinating subject, and there are so many wonderful stories that haven't yet been given a picture-book treatment. I'd far rather read an actual Chicano folktale from Texas, then a Latino version of a European one.

Leaving that aside, this was an engaging little book, and I think young children will enjoy it. Recommended to picture-book audiences that appreciate folk and fairy-tales. ( )

This is a fun story with a twist on "The Three Little Pigs". It can be more relatable for children that are of Hispanic decent. It also has Spanish words that can help children feel more comfortable reading for ELLs. ( )

This is a delightfully similar version to The Three Little Pigs, except with a Mexican flavor. It has spanish words such as guapo ( handsome), taqueria (small restaurant), Tia and Tio (Aunt and Uncle, and Por favor (please). It would be great to use in a compare and contrast lesson with young children. This particular book was signed by the author. ( )

A Latino version of the three little pigs. ( )

A similar to the 3 little pigs story but with a multicultural twist. ( )