Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant's Tale
In this pointed allegory, Pancho, a young rabbit, sets out for El Norte to find his father, who is late returning from the great carrot and lettuce fields. He falls in with a ravenous coyote who offers to guide him over the border (for a price), but when the food runs out, so does Pancho’s luck. In a rather large coincidence, he’s rescued from death by his Papá. Along the way, Pancho crosses a river, climbs a fence, and passes through a tunnel guarded by uniformed, bribe-taking snakes. Tonatiuh shapes his story along strong folkloric patterns, and he adds atmosphere aplenty in arresting, flat folk art with cultural references (coyote is the term for someone who smuggles people across the border). He closes with a critical, research-based author’s note about who illegal immigrants are and the dangers they face, capped by a list of web reports and resources. The depiction of the border’s barriers and those who patrol them may be discomfiting for some, but with so little on the topic available for younger readers, it’s good to have a book that can be read at several levels. This will spark strong responses and needed discussion. Preschool-Grade 1. --John Peters