Publisher: Toon Graphics
Release Date: March 7, 2018
Price: $9.99 (TP), $16.95 (HC)
Creator: Jaime Hernandez
Format: 48 pgs., Full-Color, Trade Paperback/Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-9431-4529-4 (TP) ; 978-1-9431-4528-7 (HC)
Age Rating: 8 and up
ICv2 Rating: 4.5 Stars out of 5
This is an excellent small collection of folktales, and is being released in both English and Spanish, as well as both paperback and hardcover. The Spanish edition will help to fill a need for more graphic works in Spanish, and the paperback edition will make it more affordable for those with limited budgets. While Hernandez is better known for his Love and Rockets comics for adults, this children’s volume highlights his skills with work for younger readers as well. The blending of European and Native American traditions common in Latin American folktales lead to some odd concepts and imagery, but that adds to the richness of the tales.
The stories here have been available in other books, in text form, but this graphic adaptation adds visualizations to some of the weirder ideas in the stories. For instance, one of the stories focuses on the positive side of laziness, for if Tup hadn’t slept instead of working in "Tup and the Ants," the story could never have come out in his favor. The title story, about a young heroine, shows that girls can be great champions, and the third story, "Martina Martinez and Perez the Mouse," is one of the strangest "talking mouse" stories of all time. It does, however, highlight one of the dangers of relatively large soup pots, as well as some unusual ways of showing that you’re upset.
This book belongs in school and public libraries, as well as in the collections of families where stories are shared. The stories may lead to discussions as well, a bonus.
--Nick Smith: Library Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.
