This is the story of how the Thunder God's son's adventures when one day he decides to come down from the sky and spend some time down on Earth. Down here, he is faced with many trails and tests. With the help of his father, he remains triumphant in all of his challenges. The language is very befitting of oral tradition because of the story's easy and soft progression. Readers learn about the importance of accepting help in times of need and how sometimes success is best achieved with the assistance of others. This is a great, light-hearted tale for people of all ages. ( )

When Acuri, the son of Paricaca the Thunder God, turns thirteen, his father dispatches him to earth, where his experiences in the house of a rich miser teach him much about the ways of humanity. Disguised as a poor beggar, Acuri heals the miser, saves his wife from serpents, and defeats his son, Rupay, in a number of contents. But despite these experiences, the family learns neither generosity nor humility, until finally Paricaca himself takes a hand...

Published in 1981, Ariane Dewey's The Thunder God's Son is one of the few Peruvian tales I have found in my search for traditional Andean folklore for children. Sadly, I thought it somewhat lacking, both in narrative interest and illustrative style. Although it is clear that the miser and his family are in need of a lesson, I was never able to work up much sympathy for Acuri, nor did the artwork, colorful though it was, seem especially noteworthy or interesting. Worst of all, there is no background information given, as to cultural context or source material, so young readers will be unable to follow up on the story, with further reading. ( )

This Peruvian folktale is about Acuri, son of the thunder god, who comes down to earth disguised as a beggar. He encounters a rich, greedy family and even though he helps them and they say they will change, they don't. In the end they are punished and turned into deer. The illustrations are simplistic. They are very colorful but I didn't like them; they were not propotional and they were odd but not in a good way.

$8.95