RAIN PLAYER
by David Wisniewski & illustrated by David Wisniewski
A unique artist again creates a substantial original tale based on folkloric traditions, meticulously explained in an extensive note. This time the setting is Mayan; the protagonist is Pik, a boy who challenges his culture's fatalism in a ballplaying competition with Chac, the rain god, thus bringing relief to his drought-stricken village. Like the memorable contest in Wisniewski's The Warrior and the Wise Man (1989), Pik's is monumentally heroic and made even more dramatic in the artist's spectacular three-dimensional collages. A strong adventure that will appeal to a broad age range. (Picture book. 5-10)