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The 3 Three Little Dassies


The 3 Little Dassies
by Jan Brett
Putnam Juvenile, 2010. 32 pages. Picture book.

This is a beautifully illustrated retelling of The Three Little Pigs folktale, set in Africa with dassies instead of pigs. Dassies are cute little guinea pig-like animals that eagles love to eat. These little dassies (just saying 'little dassies' is fun) are all dressed up and looking for a place to live. They each build a home at the base of a mountain, where they are welcomed by the lizard, Agama Man. The next morning, an eagle swoops down and flaps and claps and blows in Mimbi's house of grass, and carries her up to his nest at the top of the mountain. He then comes back down and does the same to Pimbi's little house of sticks, but when he tries to blow down Timbi's house of rocks, he is in for a surprise. Part of the fun is the secondary story, in which Agami Man plays a vital role, taking place behind the scenes which is told in pictures on the sides of each page.

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