Los Perros Magicos de Los Volcanes / Magic Dogs of the Volcanoes

When the magic dogs who live on the volcanoes of El Salvador and protect the villagers from harm are pursued by wicked lead soldiers, they are aided by two ancient volcanoes.

Kindergarten-Grade 3-- For generations, the cadejos , wolflike, magical animals, have cared for the people who live at the foot of the volcanoes. But then the landowner decides to do away with them in the hopes of making the campesinos harder working, and he sends soldiers made out of lead to kill them. In desperation the cadejos call upon their great-great grandparents, the volcanoes, who defeat the soldiers, and, by extension, the landowner. In this engagingly told dual-language story from El Salvador, the original Spanish text is much smoother and more dynamic than is the English translation, which misses some of the humor and clever turns of speech that grace Arguenta's narrative form. However, the translation is able and reads aloud well enough to hold the attention of young listeners. Simmons's illustrations are in keeping with the folkloric tone. Large, bright, and primitive-looking, they have some of the mass and volume of Orozco's work. Paired with Jane Anne Volkmer's Song of the Chirimia (Carolrhoda, 1990), this opens listeners to the folklore of Central America in an attractively illustrated, accessible form. --Ann Welton, University Child Development School, Seattle
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.