Natalia Toledo, illustrated by Francisco toledo, traslated from the Zapotec by Elisa Amado
Light Foot / Pies Ligeros
Groundwood Books, 2006

Rating: P*

This school-age picture book is the product of a Mexican father/daughter collaboration. It is the story of Death, who challenges all of the animals to a jump-rope contest in order to control the world’s population. One by one, the animals fail to rise to her challenge and subsequently meet their demise - until she meets Grasshopper.

It is a clever little folktale, with well-crafted rhymes peppered throughout the text, but the story would undoubtedly be too subtle for most children, especially those unfamiliar with the themes of death in Central/South American cultures. Certainly the illustrations are rich and possess a strange beauty, but they are likely to be frightening or unappealing to children. Give this one a miss unless purchasing collections for large immigrant communities who may better appreciate the cultural themes of the story.

Thematic Links: Folktakes; Mexico; Death

Michelle Gowans
Vol. 13, number 2
December 2007

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.