The Runaway Tortilla, illustrated by Erik Brooks.

A little tortilla runs away from Tía Lupe and Tío José's taquería in this Latino version of the classic Anglo-American folktale, The Gingerbread Man. Pursued by an ever-growing group of people and creatures, from burros to cowboys, the tortilla evades them all, chanting her rhyming taunt - "Run as fast as fast can be. / You won't get a bite of me. / Doesn't matter what you do. / I'll be far ahead of you" - along the way. Unfortunately for her, Señor Coyote is even more cunning than she...

The Runaway Tortilla was originally published in 2000, with artwork by Randy Cecil, and then reprinted in this new, 2015 edition, with illustrations by Erik Brooks. Comparing the two editions side by side - what can I say, I like to examine how different artists interpret the same story - I find that the text has also been changed slightly in this new version, with more Spanish words being used - burros for donkeys, vaqueros for cowboys, etc. Brooks' artwork here looks to be computer generated, unlike Cecil's oil paint illustrations. On the whole I found it appealing, and particularly liked the scenes in which all of the tortilla's pursuers are depicted in silhouette, as the runaway pastry's refrain is repeated. I don't know that I strongly prefer one version of this story over the other, and would recommend this title to the same group as the original edition, namely, to young folklore enthusiasts, and to picture-book readers who enjoy stories set in Texas, with a Latino flavor. ( )

The Runaway Tortilla, illustrated by Randy Cecil.

That classic Anglo-American folktale from New England, The Gingerbread Man, is transplanted to Texas in this picture-book retelling from author Eric A. Kimmel and illustrator Randy Cecil. When a light and fluffy tortilla runs away from their taquería, Tía Lupe and Tío José chase after it, joined by an ever-growing assortment of animals and people. The tortilla rolls along its way, taunting her pursuers with a rhyming chant, until finally she meets her match, in the form of a cunning coyote...

Originally published in 2000, with artwork by Randy Cecil, The Runaway Tortilla was reprinted in 2015 with new illustrations by Erik Brooks. This review is for the original edition, although I have also requested the new one from the library, given my interest in examining how different artists interpret the same text. In any case, this was a fairly engaging story, one of many traditional tales - see also: Little Red Hot, The Three Little Tamales, Jack and the Giant Barbecue, etc. - that Kimmel has transplanted to Texas. As I mentioned in my reviews of some of these other titles, I'm not always enthusiastic about transplanted tales, as I would prefer to see retellings of stories that actually hail from the cultures and regions being depicted. That said, this tale type, featuring a runaway pastry, is extremely widespread already, so seeing it in a new cultural context felt quite appropriate. Recommended to picture-book readers who enjoy folktales and/or stories set in Texas, with a Latino flavor. ( )

A take on the Gingerbread man, a tortilla runs away and is chased through the streets and into the desert until he's outsmarted by a Senor Coyote. Aspects from counting to a lesson in just desserts all wrapped in a funny story!

In this southwestern version of Gingerbread Man, Senorita Tortilla runs away from Tia Lupe and Tio Jose who is about to cook him up and serve him to the customers. Just like in The Gingerbread Man, tortilla gets away from the couple and as Senorita Tortilla rolls away in the vast desert, other animals join the run after Senorita Tortilla. But when Senorita Tortilla successfully outrun her pursuers and encounter the cunning coyote, her trust to the coyote ultimately comes to a tragedy when the coyote eats her.

This book is such a bittersweet story as I am sad to find out Senorita Tortilla gets eaten by the coyote. A hard lesson is learn about deception and it shows that you can't freely trust anyone easily especially the sweet innocent ones. Eric Kimmel does a great with the parallelism with The Gingerbread Man to his version of the story. It adds fun and depth into the story as I can compare Senorita Torilla to the Gingerbread Man. Great book overall to read to young children and this is an excellent book to use for compare and contrast for similar books of the same theme. ( )

The Runaway Tortilla is a Latino parallel to The Gingerbread Man. Senorita Tortilla hops off of the griddle of Tia Lupe and Tio Jose, and rolls away from the desert with an assembly of people and creatures chasing after her. When she finally stops to do something nice for a cunning coyote, she is deceived and snapped shut in his trap. A book that incorporates a fun story with counting as well as a lesson about deception. This is a light and airy tale that teaches a hard lesson at the end. ( )