Love and Roast Chicken: A Trickster Tale from the Andes Mountains

Cuy (who is taking the role of Br'er Rabbit in these tales - he even gets caught with a "tar" (sticky gum) baby at one point!) is very very little. And when you're very very little and there's a big fox that wants to eat you and farms that don't want you to eat their alfalfa, you have to find a way to survive.

Cuy survives by tricking people. He convinces Fox that the world is about to end, and that the sky is about to fall. He convinces the farmer that he's a very very small field hand. (This cracks me up every time.)

It's hilarious. ABsolutely hilarious, and the art isn't half bad either.

This is a great read aloud trickster tale. The text and the accompaniment of illustrations and fun characters makes for a great book to read aloud to kids. The folktale is fun and Knutson adds illustrations that kids can spend ample amount of time discovering. The drawings are detailed and almost Monet-esk, making for a new type of illustration kids can adore.

The guinea pig out smarts the fox every time he is about to be caught and eaten. Fun story that had me smiling the whole time because the guinea pig used the foxes fears and greed to out smart him. Wonderful book!!

Anyone who loves guinea pigs will love this book. It gives a creative spin to the traditional trickster tales from the Andes Mountains regions of Peru and Bolivia, which typically feature a gray fox. In this English-language version, a guinea pig is the one outfoxing the fox. This guinea pig hero looks so adorable in a poncho in Knutson’s vivid illustrations that guinea-pig lovers would be eager readers of this book even if it was poorly written. Happily, it’s not. The action is quick. The characters are strong. Readers will sympathize even with the fox. There’s lots of humor that will appeal to readers of all ages. While the content is suitable for preschool on up, the amount of text could be challenge to younger readers. It does show more make a great read aloud. Oh, and did I mention that the hero is a guinea pig?! show less

I really enjoyed the thick lines in Barbara Knutson's art - it certainly evoked South American culture to me. I really liked the mixture of language that was in this book as well. I really liked the plot as well, it definitely kept me interested! This book is educational as well; in the back of the book there is a list of Spanish words that are used in the book along with their English translations.

A fun trickster folktale of a guinea pig, Cuy, who avoids being eaten time and time again by a fox by tricking him. Though Cuy is not the most honest of protagonists, his actions teach the fox to stop chasing him if he doesn't enjoy being tricked. The artwork reflects the vibrant culture of the book, set within the Andes Mountains of South America, and would be a great addition to a classroom bookshelf to introduce culture and the Spanish language to children.

Barbara Knutson keeps the cultural “flavor” of the Andes Mountain in her book, Love and Roast Chicken: A Trickster Tale from the Andes Mountains. In this trickster tale, a clever guinea pig, Cuy, repeatedly outsmarts Tio Antonio, the fox. On numerous occasions, Tio Antonio catches Cuy to eat, but is tricked into letting Cuy free. From holding a rock to being told he will have to marry the farmer’s daughter, Tio Antonio appears to be gullible and not very smart. Tio Antonio never catches Cuy and Cuy never gets punishment for tricking others. This folktale is silly and will keep readers laughing throughout the twist of events. The Author’s Note and New Words to Stay sections are welcomed additions to this book as it provides show more useful background knowledge to this folktale. Love and Roast Chicken: A Trickster Tale from the Andes Mountains is a must have trickster tale for any school library.

Age Appropriate: 4 to 8 years-old.
This story could be used by older children as a comparison piece in traditional literature. show less