The Runaway Piggy / El cochinito fugitivo

James G. Luna

Nov 2010 · Arte Publico Press

About this eBook

The sun shines through the windows of MarthaÍs PanaderÕa onto the shelves of freshly baked treats. The bakery holds tray after tray of hot Mexican sweet bread„conchas, orejas, cuernitos, empanadas, and cochinitos„all ready for hungry customers. In the classic tradition of The Gingerbread Man, James LunaÍs piggy cookie leaps off the baking tray and takes the reader on a mad dash through the barrio, past LorenzoÍs Auto Shop, NitaÍs Beauty Salon, LetiÍs Flower Shop, and JuanaÍs Thrift Shop. The telephone repairman, the bus driver ƒ each person the piggy encounters is greeted by his laugh and the repeated refrain: ñChase me! Chase me down the street! But this is one piggy you wonÍt get to eat! I ran away from the others and IÍll run away from you!î The cochinito fugitivo avoids being eaten by the long line of people chasing him through the neighborhood streets ƒ until he meets a crafty little girl named Rosa! Children„and adults too„will delight in the clever piggyÍs escape from MarthaÍs PanaderÕa in this entertaining re-telling of a familiar story set in a colorful Latino neighborhood. A recipe to make Mexican gingerbread pig cookies is included in both English and Spanish.

About the author

JAMES LUNA is an elementary school teacher in Riverside, California. He has written two bilingual picture books for children, The Place Where You Live / El lugar donde vives (PiÐata Books, 2015), and The Runaway Piggy / El cochinito fugitivo (PiÐata Books, 2010), which was named to the 2011-2012 Tejas Star Reading List. Publishers Weekly praised the book, declaring, ñThe story of The Gingerbread Man gets a lively Mexican makeover.î He has also written A Mummy in Her Backpack / Una momia en su mochila (PiÐata Books, 2012), his first bilingual book for intermediate readers. LAURA LACMARA is a Cuban-American artist and author. She wrote and illustrated DaliaÍs Wondrous Hair / El cabello maravilloso de Dalia (PiÐata Books, 2013). She is the illustrator of The Runaway Piggy / El cochinito fugitivo (PiÐata Books, 2010) and AliciaÍs Fruity Drinks / Las aguas frescas de Alicia (PiÐata Books, 2012) and the author of Floating on MamaÍs Song / Flotando en la canciÑn de mamà (HarperCollins, 2010). She lives in Venice, California, with her family. CAROLINA VILLARROEL is the Brown Foundation Director of Research at Arte PÏblico Press. Carolina began at Arte PÏblico Press in 1997 as a Research Assistant while pursuing her Ph.D. in the UH Hispanic Studies Department. She now oversees the Recovering the U.S. Hispanic Literary Heritage Project.