An illustrated story about legendary volcano dogs in El Salvador in which the volcanoes interference to protect their pups doesn't seem to do quite as much damage as might be expected. ( )

I liked this book because it is a bilingual book having the paragraphs written in both English and then again is Spanish. It is about a place in El Salvador and the illustrations and theme are very Spanish. I think this is a great way to include Spanish speaking students in our schools and show them that they are respected as Spanish speakers. The story is about the magic dogs that guard and take care of the villager’s. When the children are in danger they will scoop them up and float them away on a cloud. And when the adults are too hot from working in the sun they will scoop them up and carry them in a cloud then put them under a shade tree and give them water. I liked that the dogs are all white, like the white chargers that save the day. I liked that the illustrations of the village showed different scenes, villager’s in family groups, two ladies talking in a doorway and a man playing a guitar in the center of the village with the dogs all around. The land owners wanted to get rid of the dogs because they claimed the villagers were being lazy and unproductive because of the dogs. So, they sent in lead soldiers to get rid of them. The soldiers looked just like toy soldiers you see at Christmas time. The soldiers were proud of getting the job of getting rid of the dogs. They thought they were going to be the most respected soldiers in the world. I liked that the acclaim the soldiers talked about getting was to where lots of silver and go to lots of birthday parties; it was things that children would find wonderful. But of course the magic volcanoes (the magic dog’s grandparents) protected the dogs and chased away the soldiers by ( )

The illustrations are colorful and exuberant in the telling of this El Salvadorian story. Children will love this bilingual storybook about magical animals and the power of respecting their ancestors. This is a great story to teach children about different cultures and folktales that are passed down through generations. Ages 4-8 ( )

An original folk tale in both Spanish and English.