The Horn Book Guide

PICTURE BOOKS

Smith, Emilie , Tejada, Margarita Kenefic

Viva Zapata

32 pp. | Tradewind | October, 2009 | Trade ISBN 978-1-896580-55-5 $16.95

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Stefan Czernecki. This book tells a fictional anecdote about young Emiliano Zapata, who gains a social conscience in boyhood after a gang steals his family's horse. Emiliano goes after them and discovers they became bandidos because, growing up, they "never had enough tortillas to eat." Czernecki's bold black-and-white drawings have some visual appeal, but they unfortunately play into the pistol-toting, sombrero-wearing, Mexican stereotype.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham