"The Three Little Dassies" by Jan Brett

Citation:
Brett, Jan. The Three Little Dassies. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2010.
ISBN: 9780399254994

Plot Summary:
The three little dassies lived in the desert with their parents, aunts and uncles, and cousins.  They set out to live on their own in the distant mountains.  When the dassies get to the mountains they meet an Agama Man.  He tells them that he and the family of eagles on top of the mountain are the only ones living there.  The three dassies begin to search for materials to make houses.  One dassie makes a house of grass.  Another dassie makes a house of driftwood.  The third dassie makes a house of stone.  The big old eagle spots the dassies one morning and decides to catch them for a meal.  The big old eagle manages to flap his wings and blow down the first house made of grass.  He takes the first dassie into his nest.  Then he goes after the second dassie and also manages to flap his wings and blow down the house made of driftwood.  He also takes the second dassie to his nest!  The big old eagle goes after the third dassie's house but is unable to blow down her house.  All he manages to do is whip up a cloud of dust which makes him cough and sneeze so much that he gives up and returns to his nest.  When he gets back to the nest the two dassies are no longer there!  He spots them back down below near the stone house!  The big old eagle attempts to get into the stone house through the chimney but is scorched by the smoke and forever blackened.  The dassies are safe from the eagle and live happily and safely together in the stone house.

Critical Analysis:
Jan Brett did an excellent job creating a variant on The Three Little Pigs.  Her variant also serves as a myth.  The story takes place in Namibia, South Africa.  Dassies, Agama lizards, and eagles are animals that live in the mountains together in that region.  The last page of the story is illustrated realistically with several dassies on a mountain side with a black eagle overhead and an Agama lizard nearby.  This last page is the summation of the myth. It explains why the dassies can live in stone caves on the mountainside and why the eagles are black.

Jan Brett has a unique style for her illustrations and once again she creates a beautiful storybook whose illustrations tell a side story of their own.  Each page is framed with side illustrations which show what is happening elsewhere in the story.  The storyline does not explain how the two dassies escape from the eagle's nest.  However, side illustrations depict how the Agama Man helps the two dassies climb out of the nest to safety.

Review Excerpts:
Publishers Weekly: "This offering is classic Brett: meticulously rendered animal characters, an authentically depicted setting, ornate borders, action-filled side panels, and lively storytelling...A buoyant and original reimagining."
School Library Journal: " Children will enjoy following both stories and will linger on each page following the exacting detail of the setting: the desert, the characters, the decorative borders, and all the small touches in between. This tale will captivate children and introduce a setting and animals unfamiliar to most of them."

Connections:
*If you're teaching fairy tale variants to children this title would make a perfect example.  It manages to mirror the classic storyline (even dialogue) with an entirely unique look and feel specific to South Africa.
*Love the illustrations?  Check out other titles by Jan Brett:
Gingerbread Baby
ISBN: 9780399234446
The Mitten: a Ukranian Folktale
ISBN: 9780399231094
Town Mouse, Country Mouse
ISBN: 9780399226229