Owl in a Straw Hat : El Tecolote del Sombrero de Paja

This masterfully written childrens book by New Mexicos favourite storyteller is a delightful tale about a young owl named Ollie who lives in an orchard with his parents in northern New Mexico. Ollie is supposed to attend school but prefers to hang out with his friends Raven and Crow instead. Ollies parents discover he cannot read and they send Ollie off to see his grandmother, Nana, a teacher and farmer in Chimayo. Along the way, Ollies illiteracy causes mischief as he meets up with some shady characters on the path including Gloria La Zorra (a fox), Trickster Coyote, and a hungry wolf named Luis Lobo who has sold some bad house plans to the Three Little Pigs. When Ollie finally arrives at Nanas, his cousin Randy Roadrunner drives up in his lowrider and asks Ollie why hes so blue. Im starting school, and theres too much to learn, and I cant read Ollie says. I cant do it. Randy explains that he did not think he could learn to read either, but he persevered, earned a business degree, and now owns the best lowrider shop in Espanola! Ollie finally decides he is ready to learn to read. The characters and the northern New Mexico landscape come to life wonderfully in original illustrations by New Mexico artist El Moises.