Huevos Rancheros [Paperback]

Kindergarten-Grade 2--Is there life beyond the cage? Is there a calling beyond laying eggs? Well, yes, and Marcelina, a plucky hen, is determined to find it. When an ad for a hen appears in The National Eggsaminer lining her erstwhile prison, Marcelina takes advantage of an open cage door, hops a bus, and heads for the small town of Coyotepec-where, to her intense irritation, she is again locked in a cage. Discovering that her nemesis is a hen-eating coyote, Marcelina befriends the scoundrel and convinces him that a good meal of her tasty huevos rancheros is far better than a mouthful of raw chicken. This tale is reminiscent of but textually weaker than both Verna Aardema's Borreguita and the Coyote (Random, 1998) and Keiko Kasza's The Wolf's Chicken Stew (Putnam, 1987). It is too long and too contrived to allow for a smooth flow or a coherent story line. The illustrations, however, are amusing. Painted in gouache on amate bark paper, the cartoon forms are simple and humorous. The use of big blocks of clean, bright colors makes them eye-catching, while the consistent presence of the moon, with a mustachioed face, a sombrero, and constantly changing expressions, adds a further note of levity. The text on the pages facing the illustrations is boxed by traditional papel picado borders, increasing the attractiveness of the finished product considerably. However, for collections containing either of the books mentioned above, this is strictly an additional purchase.
Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Stefan Czernecki was born in a refugee camp in Germany and now lives in a small glass apartment one hundred and fifty feet above the ground. For inspiration he travels to faraway places like Tokyo, Mexico City, New York and Marrakesh. He won the Aesop Accolade, the American Folklore Society Award, in 1997.