Book Review, Children's Fiction

Viva Cisco by Patrick Shannon

The imaginary town of Topopootl lies in a hidden valley of a faraway mountain, deep in the heart of Mexico.  This town is filled with animals of all shapes and sizes who live together in harmony away from their human enemy.  The story is about Cisco the Parrot , the Answer Man at the Topopootl Public Library, who is bored with his job and wants to be famous.  The book is in three parts or short stories that tell about Cisco’s adventures with his friends who range from pigs, bears, fish eagles, and even cockroaches.

This is a children’s book with a unique story based in the forests of Mexico.  The characters are vibrant, funny, and clever and the skunk story is especially funny.  One factor I found inconsistent was that in parts of the book they referred to Cisco’s wings as arms, but in other parts it was correct.  Other than that  I found the stories to be fun and interesting and I think children would enjoy Cisco’s misadventures.