Armadilly Chili
by Helen Ketteman (Author) Will Terry (Illustrator)
In this Texas-style adaptation of a traditional folktale, a tarantula, mockingbird, and horned toad refuse to help an armadillo prepare a batch of chili but nevertheless expect to eat it when it's ready.
A blue norther's a-blowing', and Miss Billie Armadilly is hankering to make a pot of chili! Only she needs to fix it all by herself because Tex the tarantula, Mackie the bluebird, and Taffy the horned toad are too busy to lend a hand. Well, she'll eat it all by herself, too! But then the smell of chili cooking in the cold night brings her friends one by one back to Miss Billie's door. What's a lady armadillo to do?
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School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2-When the winds of a Texas "blue norther" bend cactuses to the curves of the desert hills, Miss Billie Armadilly decides to make a pot of chili. Modeled after the Little Red Hen, the task-focused armadillo asks for assistance from Tex the tarantula, Mackie the bluebird, and Taffy the horned toad, but all three are too busy to help. Ever resourceful, Miss Billie single-handedly gathers a bunch of beetles, picks a peck of peppers, chops up prickly pear cactus, and cooks up her specialty. That evening, her hungry pals ask for a taste, but she tells them, "No workin' with Billie, no sharin' the chili!" However, when the proud and somewhat angry armadillo sits down to eat, she sadly discovers one precious ingredient missing from the concoction-the love of her friends. Terry's vibrant cartoon artwork adds personality to Billie and her large-eyed companions. Done in jewel tones, the scenes depict the warmth of the desert landscape as well as that of the creatures' friendship. The rhythmic text reads aloud well and the dialogue has a western flavor. Pair this variant of the classic story with Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel's Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! (Harcourt, 1999) to spark a discussion of colorful characters in traditional tales.
Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Review quotes
2005-2006 North Carolina Children's Book Award Master List
2007 Arizona Young Reader Award Picture Book Master List
2005 Winner, Storytelling World Award
Children's Books Top Picks, Southwest Books of the Year 2004
2005 Texas Library Association's 2 x 2 Reading List
JUV012040 - Juvenile Fiction | Fairy Tales & Folklore | Adaptations
JUV050000 - Juvenile Fiction | Cooking & Food
