i really wanted to like this book-- i love folktales, i love Oaxaca, i love bilingual books.... but I was so disappointed. i love Oaxaca and have visited many times---i am familiar with the radish festival, although i have never been. I love the gingerbread man but this story does not flow, does not feel or sound authentic and seems very hokey to me. While i understand that the target audience is not latino, but US born children--Levy's tale still has a clumsy and stereotypical feel to it. i do not like the art work at all--it had an unfinished quality to it that was unappealing and failed to enhance the story. The other reviewers, who all liked the work, were correct to try it out on an audience, and so i read it at a storytime filled with boys and girls from 3-10. The kids listene, but by no means did they love it--and the 2 nine year olds immediately began talking about the gingerbread man --a great connection, of course-- but they then requested the gingerbread man which was a real crowd pleaser. So, while I love the concept, i am very disappointed in the work, and cannot recommend it. Mexico has plenty of lovely folktales that are readily available in english and spanish --Cucú, by Lois Ehlert, La Mujer que brillaba aún más que el sol, by Martinez and Horse and Hooves by Neil Philip, to name a very few. Runaway Radish just cannot compare.
