Research Paper on:
The Three Little Javelinas by Susan Lowell

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
the main features of the standard story, but translates them to their Southwestern equivalents. As this suggests, not only is this a charming retelling of the story, but it  also offers young children an introduction to Southwestern culture that is entertaining and age appropriate for preschoolers. The concept of the story is introduced immediately in a boxed paragraph  in which Lowell explains that the javelinas are a "New World relative of swine...that ranges from the southwestern United States down to the tip of South America" (Lowell, 1992). The  student researching this topic should note that page numbers are not given after quotations because none are given in the text, i.e. picture books do not generally have numbered pages.  When Lowell introduces a Southwestern words, such as "javelina," she always includes a pronunciation guide, i.e. "javelina" is pronounced ha-ve-LEE-na). The story proper begins on the next page with the  age-old introduction of "Once upon a time." Lowell introduces the hairy, little Southwestern javelinas and sets them against the beauty of the Southwestern environment -- "Steep purpose mountains looked down  on the desert, where the cactus forests grew." As with all picture books, the illustrations add greatly to the book. The illustrator (Jim Harris) pictures the three little javelinas  in Southwestern "cowboy" garb. There are two brothers dressed in chaps, sporting bandanas, and wearing cowboy hats, but the third javelina breaks with tradition by being female. She wears a  fringed skirt, matching vest and carries a parasol. As this indicates, the illustrations are used to convey the look and "feel" of the Southwest. The javelinas go their separate  ways and the first little javelina is immediately caught up in a dust storm that whirls him across the desert and deposits him on a heap of tumbleweeds, which becomes