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THE RUNAWAY TORTILLA

The author of a conventional Gingerbread Man (1993) dishes up another version, this with a Southwestern flavor and a female entree. Tía Lupe makes such light tortillas at El Papagayo Feliz, her south Texan taquería, that one finally jumps up, declares, “I’m too beautiful to eat,” and rolls out the door. Weaving her way past horned toads, rattlesnakes, cowboys, and other pursuers, the tortilla sings out a catchy, taunting refrain, printed in long, wavy lines across each spread: “Run as fast as can be. You won’t get a bite of me. Doesn’t matter what you do. I’ll be far ahead of you!” Like a small, gleeful moon, the tortilla rolls across Cecil’s dusty, mustard-yellow chaparral, chased by a growing crowd of hungry-looking admirers, meeting her inevitable end when sly Coyote begs her prettily to remove the “grasshopper” that has lodged in his throat. Deeper and deeper into his throat she travels until all that shows are his teeth wrapped around the edge of the pages and the tortilla staring down his gullet. And “SNAP!” How sad. How delicious! (Picture book/folk tale. 6-8)

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2000

ISBN: 1-890817-18-X

Page Count: 40

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2000

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BERRY MAGIC

Sloat collaborates with Huffman, a Yu’pik storyteller, to infuse a traditional “origins” tale with the joy of creating. Hearing the old women of her village grumble that they have only tasteless crowberries for the fall feast’s akutaq—described as “Eskimo ice cream,” though the recipe at the end includes mixing in shredded fish and lard—young Anana carefully fashions three dolls, then sings and dances them to life. Away they bound, to cover the hills with cranberries, blueberries, and salmonberries. Sloat dresses her smiling figures in mixes of furs and brightly patterned garb, and sends them tumbling exuberantly through grassy tundra scenes as wildlife large and small gathers to look on. Despite obtrusively inserted pronunciations for Yu’pik words in the text, young readers will be captivated by the action, and by Anana’s infectious delight. (Picture book/folktale. 6-8)

Pub Date: June 1, 2004

ISBN: 0-88240-575-6

Page Count: 32

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004

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RAPUNZEL

Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your dreads! Isadora once again plies her hand using colorful, textured collages to depict her fourth fairy tale relocated to Africa. The narrative follows the basic story line: Taken by an evil sorceress at birth, Rapunzel is imprisoned in a tower; Rapunzel and the prince “get married” in the tower and she gets pregnant. The sorceress cuts off Rapunzel’s hair and tricks the prince, who throws himself from the tower and is blinded by thorns. The terse ending states: “The prince led Rapunzel and their twins to his kingdom, where they were received with great joy and lived happily every after.” Facial features, clothing, dreadlocks, vultures and the prince riding a zebra convey a generic African setting, but at times, the mixture of patterns and textures obfuscates the scenes. The textile and grain characteristic of the hewn art lacks the elegant romance of Zelinksy’s Caldecott version. Not a first purchase, but useful in comparing renditions to incorporate a multicultural aspect. (Picture book/fairy tale. 6-8)

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2008

ISBN: 978-0-399-24772-9

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2008

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