Young Zorro: The Iron Brand

Diego Vega

Feb 2010 · Harper Collins

About this ebook

Sandwiched between the ocean and the mountains surrounding the Pueblo de Los Angeles, wealthy Spanish caballeros live side by side with Native Americans. One boy with both Spanish and Indian blood belongs to both worlds. He is Diego de la Vega, who will one day wear the mask of Zorro.

As a boy Diego is more concerned with riding horses and making mischief with his best friend, Bernardo, than about fighting injustice. But when men start disappearing from the pueblo of Los Angeles and cattle are missing from Diego's father's rancho, Diego and Bernardo encounter an injustice so wicked that they must take action.

Inspired by Isabel Allende's novel Zorro, which reveals how Diego de la Vega became the legendary masked hero, Young Zorro: The Iron Brand introduces readers to a land of vaqueros and kidnappers -- an exciting world in which a young hero is formed.

First introduced in 1919, the legend of Zorro, "the fox," swiftly grew into a phenomenon. A hero of Spanish California with a dual identity, Zorro has vanquished evildoers and conquered hearts in books, movies, and television series around the world. Most recently the Zorro tale has been brought to life by Antonio Banderas and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the 1998 major motion picture The Mask of Zorro and its 2005 sequel, The Legend of Zorro.

Ratings and reviews

Gr. 5-8. In the sleepy, out-of-the-way Spanish colonial hamlet of Los Angeles, young Diego de la Vega is determined to discover the cause of an outbreak of cattle rustling and the accompanying disappearances of some of the pueblo's craftsmen. Eventually, he and his best friend, Bernardo, find that an evil aristocrat, don Moncada, is responsible for the kidnappings and is planning to set up his own kingdom. Diego's fearless, upright father leads a small army to rescue the kidnapped men, but ultrasmooth and slippery don Moncada proves to be a challenging foe. Diego is actually the boy Zorro, but he isn't quite as dashing as his adult counterpart. Though readers may miss the famous swordplay, the cape, and the black steed, Adkins' historical novel, inspired by Isabel Allende's Zorro (2005), has enough action and rich detail of old California to engage readers. Todd Morning Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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About the author

Jan Adkins has written, illustrated, and designed thirty-six books. He has also art-directed magazines, written TV scripts, and taught design at the college level. He lives on a horse ranch in Novato, California.