Nekane, the Lamina & the Bear: A Tale of the Basque Pyrenees

Superficially the plot of this Basque folktale reads like Little Red Riding Hood, but its sharp heroine needs no hunter to rescue her. Nekane journeys through the forest to Uncle Kepa's house with a basket of olive oil and fish. Her ``big bad wolf'' is a lamina (forest spirit) that takes on the shape--and vulnerabilities--of other entities. First Nekane outsmarts the lamina when it appears to her in the guise of fog, and next she staves off a very real and hungry bear with the promise of honey at Uncle Kepa's house. There she deduces that her uncle is being impersonated by the lamina , and she cleverly manipulates one predator to thwart the other. The strong female character and nonviolent ending will gratify the politically correct, while a glossary emphasizes the book's multiculturalism. Araujo's well-paced telling is fresh and atmospheric, as are the unusual watercolor illustrations. One color seeps into another, creating a fluid, appropriately fanciful effect. Ages 6-up. (Dec.)