Thursday, April 2, 2015

Fractured Fairy Tale Books For Kids with a Southern Twist; Armadilly Chili / The Three Little Tamales; Book Reviews


One of the things I love about substitute teaching is reading time with the kids. This past week I had the chance to sub in a first grade class who was learning about Fairy Tales. Two of the books I had the opportunity to read to the class during their class reading time were Fractured Fairy Tales, Amaradilly Chili and The Three Little Tamales.

These two books were great! Not only did the kids love them, I loved them as well. These stories were great read aloud books, and made for great classroom discussions. Sadly I hadn't heard of these books until I had read them. Hopefully by sharing my reviews of these books, more readers will be able to pick these up and read them, if they haven't already.

If you liked The Little Red Hen, you'll enjoy the size spin on the story in Aramdily Chili. If you like The Three Little Pigs, you'll enjoy the twist in The Three Little Tamales.



By: Helen Ketteman
Illustrated by: Will Terry
Published by: Albert Whitman & Company
Released on: 1/4/04
Reading Comprehension: 1st Grade
Purchase from: Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads

Miss Billie Armadilly is hankering to make a pot of chili. Only she'll fix it all by herself because everyone else is too busy to lend a hand. Ketteman's Texas-style spin on The Little Red Hen is joined by the Southwestern warmth of Terry's paintings. Full color.

Litte Little Red Hen, meet Miss Billie Armadillo. The Texan Armadillo who can make a mean pot of chili. Full of southern charm, given a slight southern twang for it's dialogue, and it's brightly colored illustrations, give this book the perfect southern twist on a beloved fable.

Much like the Little Red Hen, Miss Billie invites her friends to help her make her delicious pot of chili. Just like Little Red Hen's friends, Miss Billie's friends all of other things going on, and are too busy to help. When the cold winds start blowing, and Miss Billie's chili is done cooking, her friends come for dinner. Having no help in cooking it, Miss Billie reminds her friends that if they don't help her cook the meal, they don't get to eat her chili. Luckily Miss Billie's friends realize their mistake, as does Miss Billie. They realize that dinner is best served with friends.

I'm huge a fan of fractured fairy tales, and this one was great!



By: Eric A Kimmel
Illustrated by: Valeria Docampo
Published by: Two Lions
Released on: 3/1/09
Reading Comprehension: 1st Grade
Purchase from: Amazon | B&N
Add it to Goodreads

While the three little tamales cool off on a windowsill, a tortilla rolls by. "You’ll be eaten. You’d better run!" he tells them. And so the tamales jump out the window. The first runs to the prairie and builds a house of sagebrush. The second runs to a cornfield and builds a house of cornstalks. The third runs to the desrt and builds a house of cactus. Then who should come along but Señor Lobo, the Big Bad Wolf, who plans to blow their houses down! 

The Three Little Pigs with a  Southern twist. 

When three little Tamales are cooling off new a window, they see a tortilla roll by who tells them to run, or else they'll be eaten. Not wanting to be eaten, the three little Tamales run off. Each tamale finds the perfect place to build their home, or so they think. When a big bad wolf named, Señor Lobo, comes, and destroys their homes, the Tamales each head for the home of their sibling. Señor Lobo has no problems destroying the first Tamales's home of made of sagebrush. This Tamale runs from her prairie home to the cornstalks of her brother's home. Señor Lobo has no problems destroying the second Tamales's home made from cornstalks. 

Things get tricky when Señor Lobo chases the two Tamales to the last Tamales's house in the desert. The third Tamales house is made of cactus. This Tamales's house isn't as easy to destroy. While Señor Lobo tries everything he can to destroy it, the Tamale comes up with a plan herself to not only save her siblings from getting eaten, it will hopefully chase the wolf away. 

Three Little Tamales is a fantastic spin on a great children's story. The story is engaging, and the illustrations are great. The desert setting was perfect for this story. I also liked how Eric mixed in some Spanish dialogue into the story. If you like fractured fairy tales with a twist, I'd recommend picking up this book. 


I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~ Anna Quindlen

Good children's literature appeals not only to
the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.
~ Anonymous ~