Llama and the Great Flood: A Folktale from Peru

Llama and the Great flood is a nice retelling of this folktale from Peru...I think this is our first Peruvian myth/folktale. Since our daughter recently did a study unit on the Aztecs and has previously done some reading about different countries in South America, she was aware that Llamas are abundant in South America, so this story was a nice addition to her factual study, bringing to life the beliefs of people who used to live in Andes. The text is simple and clean, sticking to the bare bones of the story...the llama has a dream that the world floods...but he was very sad and spent his days crying...finally telling his owner of the coming flood and helping him and his family up to the highest mountain peak, Willka Qutu where they and all the other animals wait out the flood. So really, this is the story of how one llama saved his family and helped bring a new world into being. The illustrations here are watercolor (I think) and are richly detailed but somehow manage to not be all that exciting. At the end of the book is an author's note which details the history story and her inspiration for writing it. Overall, it's a decent, if not overly exciting retelling of this folktale from Peru and would be fine as a read aloud story. I'll probably seek out other versions in my quest to find a nice book to add to our collection of mythology and folklore though, as this one didn't quite excite me the way I'd hoped. I give it four stars, the text is straightforward and easy for children to understand, the illustrations are good...the story just doesn't quite make it to great for me, but it's not a bad read.