Campoy relays a trio of rather flat trickster tales set in the Amazon rain forest, where the title character, crafty Fox, thrice gets the best of beady-eyed, sharp-toothed Jaguar. Two tales follow a predictable path: in the first, after Jaguar brags that he has tricked a monkey into freeing him from the boulder-covered hole in which he was trapped, Rosa convinces him to demonstrate how he escaped (she then rolls the boulder over the hole again to ensure he stays there); in the second, sly Rosa asks Jaguar to tie her to a tree so she will not be carried away by a fictitious approaching cyclone, prompting Jaguar to demand that she tie him securely to the tree first (after which she happily abandons him). In the third, more convoluted tale, a parched Rosa uses honey from a beehive to fashion a disguise of leaves so that she can slip past Jaguar to quench her thirst at the river. Throughout, both the characters and the plot fall short of clever, making for a rather ho-hum read. Artist duo Aruego and Dewey (Antarctic Antics) contribute vividly hued art-Jaguar sports a bright blue coat with butter-colored spots and half-moons, Rosa's fur is a zigzag fusion of orange and pink-rendered in pen and ink, gouache, watercolor and pastel. The animals' changeable facial expressions add a welcome dose of humor to these capers. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 3-Campoy sets three Spanish trickster tales in the Amazon Rainforest, where a little fox uses her wits to extricate herself from Jaguar's bullying threats. In "A Cry for Help," Chango-monkey helps Jaguar when he is trapped in a hole, only to be threatened by the hungry animal when he is free again. Rosa goads Jaguar into showing them once more how he was snared, and then leaves him there. In "A Strong North Wind," Rosa is caught by Jaguar, pretends there is a hurricane, and convinces her adversary to be tied to a tree so he won't blow away. In "The Green Dress," Rosa outwits not only Jaguar, but angry bees as well, and calls to Jaguar from one side of a wide river, "I hope I don't see you again." "Oh, you will, Rosa Raposa, you will," responds her nemesis on the other side, slinking away, raising readers' hopes that more stories are on the way. The pen-and-ink, gouache, watercolor, and pastel illustrations are wonderful, bright, and saucy. This is a delightful book for read-alouds, reinforcing the idea that brains are better than brawn.
Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
See all Editorial Reviews
