THE RACE OF TOAD AND DEER
adapted by Pat Mora & illustrated by Maya Itzna Brooks
Appealingly childlike gouache paintings highlight this glib retelling of a Guatemalan folktale, complete with a careful source note. In a bragging session, T°o Sapo, or Uncle Toad, disputes the supremacy of Venado, the largest deer in the jungle. A race is quickly arranged, but just before it begins, the consummate trickster Sapo and the other toads in the jungle hatch a plot. Sapo's friends trick Venado into running hard the entire race; Venado collapses before the finish line while Sapo hops steadily across it. Mora (Pablo's Tree, 1994, etc.) creates a slyly humorous text, sprinkled with Spanish phrases, for which Brooks's chunky, primitive paintings are the perfect match. A great race; a winning combination. (Picture book/folklore. 3-7)