ZORRO AND QUWI
by Rebecca Hickox & illustrated by Kim Howard
Hickox adapts material from the Peruvian Andes to provide readers with a guinea pig trickster, Quwi, who outwits Zorro the fox. Every night Zorro hunts Quwi; forced to hide from Zorro, Quwi goes hungry until he finds both sanctuary and food in a garden. Then Quwi finds himself in the trap set by the owner of the garden. Zorro spots the guinea pig and believes he is to have his meal at last. Quwi is all too amenable, for, as he explains to Zorro, if left alive and uneaten he will have to marry the garden owner's beautiful daughter and live a life of luxury and ease. Zorro frees Quwi and climbs into the trap himself; in the morning, the garden's owner arrives with a big stick to whack Zorro's head. Similar outcomes in three more delightful episodes result in Zorro's readiness to give up the chase. Howard's vibrant, stylized illustrations get to the heart of the characters' emotions with verve and panache, perfectly complementing the dash and bite of the text. (Picture book/folklore. 5-9)