The 3 Little Dassies (Module 2)

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Brett, Jan. 2010. The 3 Little Dassies. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. ISBN: 9780399254994.

2. PLOT SUMMARY
The three little dassies go out to build for themselves homes, with their hope being to be find “a place safe from big eagles.” They find a spot that looks good, and even though the Agama Man (lizard) mentions the eagles nearby, they decide to build. The first builds with grass and then takes a nap, the second with driftwood and then takes a nap, but the third takes all day to build her sturdy house of stone. The next morning the eagle easily destroys the first two houses and carries the dassies back up to his nest. He cannot get to the third dassie because of her sturdy home, but after he realizes that his first two dassies are gone (rescued by a lizard), he even tries the chimney. In the end, the three dassies are no longer ever bothered by the eagle again because his singed tail feathers have blackened all eagle feathers from then on. The final page reveals Brett's retelling to be a pourquoi tale explaining the lives of the dassies, the lizard, and the eagle.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Brett’s African version of “The Three Little Pigs” was inspired by her own trip to Namibia. The culture does comes through in the writing by the names that she chooses but shines through the most through her illustrations. In the author's note, we find the Brett gave the dassies the dresses and turbans of the Herero women and used elements of Africa within her story. The result is a delightful combination of African vibrancy and the traditional look of Brett's illustrations.

Brett delightfully tailors the story to her African characters. For example, the traditional “huff and puff” line is changed for an eagle with, “I’ll flap and I’ll clap and I’ll blow your house in!”. All the characters end up alive and well at the end, thanks to the lizard saving the dassies and the eagle only getting a color change through the singeing of its feathers. As usual with many of Brett’s illustrations, the side illustrations push the story along. The daring rescue of the lizard happens entirely on the sides of the main illustrations. I’ll admit I was so focused on the main panels that I only caught him halfway through the act and had to go back to look again.

The traditional moral of not being lazy is retained as the first two dassies are caught by the eagle due to their laziness in not building homes out of sturdier materials (shown through the desire to build quickly and then take a nap). A secondary moral of not being greedy is also incorporated as the book mentions the eagle’s greed in trying to capture all three dassies.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

• Horn Book review: “Brett uses an eye-catching variety of multicolored patterns.”
• Kirkus review: “Brett uses her magical watercolor-and-gouache paintings to create a distinctive visual world.”
• Publishers Weekly review: “A buoyant and original reimagining.”
• School Library Journal review: “This tale will captivate children and introduce a setting and animals unfamiliar to most of them.”

5. CONNECTIONS

• Brett’s website provides many activities, including coloring pages, email postcards, computer games, and reader’s theater scripts. This book has a reader’s theater script that could be used as a great follow-up: http://www.janbrett.com/3_little_dassies_reader_theater.htm
• Get your readers familiar with Jan Brett’s style by looking at more of her books. Recommended ones are The Mitten; Town Mouse, Country Mouse; Armadillo Rodeo; and The Umbrella.
• Other familiar traditional tales set in Africa:
  


Isadora, Rachel. The Princess and the Pea. ISBN: 9780142413937

Steptoe, John. Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale. ISBN: 9780688040451

Daly, Nikki. Pretty Salma: A Little Red Riding Hood Story. ISBN: 9780618723454