Eric A. Kimmel's, "The Three Little Tamales" Book Review

1.      BIBLIOGRAPHY

Kimmel, Eric A. 2009. The Three Little Tamales. Ill. by Valeria Docampo. Marshall Cavendish. New York. ISBN 978-0-7614-5519-6

2.  PLOT SUMMARY

The Three Little Tamales, is a retelling of the English Fairy Tale The Three Little Pigs, this version of the tale alludes to the beloved classic. This new age take is infused with Mexican essence and traditions; the story uses personification to bring three tamales to life and explores the moral of why hard work is valuable. The three little tamales escape the taqueria, a little restaurant, in which they were made in, because they do not want to be eaten. They escaped, one made her house out of sage bush, the second he made it out of cornstalks, and the last one she made it out of a cactus. When Senor Lobo, the Big Bad Wolf, appears the story unfolds quite comically and proceeds to teach a valuable lesson to all who read it!

3.      CRITICAL ANALYSIS

This story has comedic qualities that are used to retell this great lesson to children, using a more relevant platform, it incorporates Hispanic traditions, embedding in it a world famous Mexican dish, such as tamales. The plot develops quite brilliantly because the illustrations done by Docampo vividly display the setting of rural Texas. Valeria Docampo’s illustrations are filled with vibrant colors that evoke a fiesta, a Mexican celebration, the colors red, white, and green are spread throughout the pictures, giving an homage to the Mexican flag.  In the taqueria, chiles (peppers) adorn the building and the sombreros that the characters are wearing, are an ode to Mexican traditions, and provide a visual representation with it. Throughout the pages, the dominant colors are bright yellow, serene blues, bright green surroundings, the tamales are highlighted and accentuated in a beautiful golden color, which makes them standout, and the central focus in the pages. The illustration add another dimension to the story being told and help bring to life the three little tamales!

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Library Media Connection starred review: “Here’s another Three Little Pigs variation; it’s quite silly, but it works. Complete with a glossary of Mexican terms, this story is fun and well-written.”

School Library Journal starred review: “ Kimmel has pulled the pork from The Three Little Pigs, wrapped it in masa, and cooked up another traditional tale flavored with Southwestern spice.”

5. CONNECTIONS

*This story would be a great read in an open circle reading because of the lyrical chants of Senor Lobo, in which the students could participate and join in reading aloud those particular chants. Props like different color ribbons could be used to designate the three students that will read the parts of the whimsical tamales

*Other stories in which the theme of The Three Little Pigs is reference in are:

Kimmel, Eric A. The Three Cabritos. ISBN 978-0761463092

Grace, Will. The Three Little Fish And The Big Bad Shark. ISBN 978-0439719629