Jabut¡ the Tortoise: A Trickster Tale from the Amazon
Another installment in Gerald McDermott's wise and whimsical trickster  series,Jabutí the Tortoisetells the tale of the Amazon jungle's  shiny-shelled mischief-maker. Although Jabutí doesn't come across as the  most clever trickster around in this particular retelling (he's duped by that  crabby old Vulture and ends up getting bailed out by the King of Heaven), the  colorful pipe-player and his songs are clearly well loved. Well, by everybody  but his victims, that is: "Jaguar could remember when Jabutí tricked him  into chasing his own tail," and "Tapir could remember when Jabutí tricked  him into a tug-of-war with Whale." But we do get to learn how Tortoise's shell  became cracked, and why Toucan, Macaw, and Hummingbird boast such brilliant  colors.Not the most notable entry in this region-by-region series, but beautiful and  boldly colored nonetheless. Kids who aren't immediately hooked by  Jabutí's story will likely still get drawn in by McDermott's vibrant  colors and straightforward compositions of simply shaped jungle creatures set  against a bright pink dawn. (Ages 4 to 8)Paul Hughes