Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

The story of The Gingerbread Man gets a lively Mexican makeover in this bilingual tale, with the title role filled by a freshly baked cochinito cookie that escapes a bakery after being taken out of the oven. Piggy soon has the entire neighborhood in pursuit: a mechanic, salon owner, bus driver, and others all offer to keep Piggy safe, but he's rightfully wary of the steaming mugs of coffee they have handy. ""Chase me! Chase me down the street. But this is one piggy you won't get to eat"" is his insouciant refrain (though he eventually gets his just desserts). A recipe is included, and given the story, the last step might be the most important: ""Place in airtight container."" Ages 4%E2%80%938. (Nov.)

School Library Journal (Tue Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2011)

K-Gr 3 In this version of "The Gingerbread Boy," a pig cookie runs away from the neighborhood panaderia . Readers get a tour of the area as it runs away from the city bus, the owner of a local thrift store, the flower shop, and a coffee shop. The ending provides the one original twist, with a young girl who finally captures the treat turning out to be the daughter of the owner of the panaderia . She gives the pig cookie to her teacher. This adaptation of the familiar folktale with a Latino setting doesn't really add to the original tale. The retelling is a bit text-heavy, exacerbated by two languages on the same page. Because of so much text, the creative design possibilities are limited and may possibly turn off some potential readers. The Spanish title, which translates as The Fugitive Pig , is infinitely better than the English one. That said, the illustrations give a real sense of action, with the pig being chased by an ever-increasing number of people, and his expressions are suitably mischievous. The translation is serviceable, though not particularly imaginative. A recipe for piggy cookies is included. An additional choice where bilingual books are in demand. Tim Wadham, St. Louis County Library, MO

Kirkus Reviews

The runaway cookie in this Mexican bakery is a soft, brown, stubby-tailed piglet as impertinently bold and smug in his continual escape as his Gingerbread Boy cousin. "Chase me! Chase me down the street. But this is one piggy you won't get to eat! / Correle, correle! Y Correle mas! Soy el cochinito que jamas comeras!" This bouncy dual refrain extends the familiar cumulative text, rendered in both English and Spanish, as piggy manages to elude Marta the baker, Lorenzo the mechanic, Mama Nita the beautician, Joaquin the telephone repairman and a host of other neighborhood adults—until he is outsmarted by Rosa, a little girl on her way to school, who foxily "helps him" cross the street. Safely tucked into her backpack, piggy is both a welcome surprise and an excuse for Rosa's lateness to class. Deep opaque acrylic paintings of a colorful barrio and its residents in pursuit add the right amount of cultural flavor to this vivid Latino retelling. Recipe appended. (Picture book. 3-6)