Beloved writer Rudolfo Anaya returns to Bookworks for a storytime and signing of his newest children's book Juan and the Jackalope (UNM Press, $18.95).

When Rosita, the loveliest gal in the Pecos River Valley, offers her delicious rhubarb pie as first prize for the Great Grasshopper Race, a thousand love-struck vaqueros line up for the competition. Of course, everyone believes that the legendary cowboy Pecos Bill is a shoo-in for the grand prize!  But young Juan, who is hopelessly in love with Rosita, astonishes them all when he and Jack the Jackalope take a miraculous ride around the world and across the Milky Way. The daring pair return, covered in stardust, to claim the beautiful Rosita and her delicious pie.

Set in New Mexico, Anaya's fanciful story, coupled with Amy Cordova's vivid illustrations, brings the tradition of Southwestern tall tales to a new generation of young readers.