PAT MORA is an award-winning author, the founder of D�a (El d�a de
los ni�os, El d�a de los libros / Children's Day, Book Day), and an
honorary member of the American Library Association. Her book
Abuelos, illustrated by Amelia Lau Carling, won the International
Latino Book Award for Best English Picture Book, a Library Media
Connection Editor's Choice Award, and it was named a Cr�ticas
Magazine Best Children's Book. Pat is also the author of The Race
of Toad and Deer (La carrera del sapo y el venado) and The Night
the Moon Fell (La noche que se cay� la luna), both illustrated by
Domi. She lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
DOMI is a well-known Mazateca artist, whose vivid illustrations
appear in many children's books, including The Story of Colors by
Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos, The Night the Moon Fell (La
noche que se cay� la luna) and The Race of Toad and Deer (La
carrera del sapo y el venado), both by Pat Mora. She has also
illustrated The Girl from Chimel and The Honey Jar, by Rigoberta
Mench� and Dante Liano. She lives in Tlaquepaque, Mexico.
In this Guatemalan variation on the tortoise-and-hare fable, the laurels go not to virtuous persistence but to crafty teamwork. When Venado, an overconfident deer, challenges the mischievous toad Sapo to a running contest, Sapo enlists the help of his friends. Unbeknown to Venado, toads hide along the race course. As Venado springs ahead, he goads Sapo by calling back, ``Adelante, Tío Sapo, forward!'' But each call is mysteriously answered by a Sapo-like voice ahead: ``Adelante, Tío Venado, forward!'' Utterly disoriented, Venado races faster and faster, wearing himself out before he reaches the finish. Lightly peppered with Spanish expressions, Mora's (The Desert Is My Mother) text is organically bicultural. But Sapo's crucial scheme is nearly buried in an encyclopedic cast of rainforest characters, confusing the focus of the story. First-time illustrator Brooks, who spent much of her youth in Guatemala, smooths over the busy text with bold folk paintings. Flat, rounded compositions absorb the heat of her quasi-electric palette, containing the motion within an festive, well-modulated tempo. Ages 2-6. (Sept.)
PreS-Gr 1-This retelling of a Guatemalan folktale is reminiscent of ``The Tortoise and the Hare.'' Here, the deer, Tío Venado, challenges the toad, Tío Sapo, to a race. Clever Sapo enlists the aid of his toad friends, and wins. Native animals such as toucans, spider monkeys, tapirs, and jaguars line the purple path to watch as Venado is tricked into defeat. With the addition of these many South American beasts as well as of italicized Spanish words, the text works hard to make this book a cross-cultural experience. Stylized paintings use fanciful opaque colors and decorative patterns to give the story zesty life. The simplified cartoonlike animals parading across the double-page spreads are fun but may leave a child questioning their true identity. The toucan himself is colored differently on each appearance. While the book is visually attractive, it falls short of providing a rich adventure.-Martha Topol, Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, MI
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