El Cucuy: A Bogeyman Cuento in English and Spanish
So, you’ve been mouthing off to your parents a bit lately, not listening when they tell you to put your dirty socks in the hamper? They tell you that if you don’t shape up they are going to call the bogeyman to come and get you. You laugh. There is no such thing as a bogeyman.\ A sharp knock comes at the door. Nobody is around so you answer. Standing at the door is the oldest man you have ever seen—his back is hunched and one of his ears is big and red. He grabs for your arm and you know now...
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Listen to your parents or el Cucuy —The Bogeyman— might get you!Publishers WeeklyGr 1-3-It's no wonder that Hayes has a reputation in the Southwest and beyond as a premier storyteller. This is a tale that is meant to be read aloud with a group (and maybe even in the dark). Although the author acknowledges that the bogeyman tale is a bit harsh for modern sensibilities, he defends his choice to keep the authentic and scary elements of this traditional folktale. In it, two little girls are seen by their long-suffering father as being lazy and disobedient. Although he threatens repeatedly to call the Cucuy to take them away, they scoff at the threats and even escalate their bad behavior. When the Cucuy does come and carts them away roughly to his lair in the mountains, the girls are horrified and frightened. Robledo does a great job of making his illustrations scary with wild rolling eyes, fierce dogs, and an appropriately hideous bogeyman. The prescribed happy ending comes when a shepherd finds the girls in a cave and reunites them with their grieving father. The authentically regional Spanish text reads very smoothly. Recommended for public libraries and bookstores. M.O.B. Rosa-Mendoza, Gladys. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
\ Publishers WeeklyGr 1-3-It's no wonder that Hayes has a reputation in the Southwest and beyond as a premier storyteller. This is a tale that is meant to be read aloud with a group (and maybe even in the dark). Although the author acknowledges that the bogeyman tale is a bit harsh for modern sensibilities, he defends his choice to keep the authentic and scary elements of this traditional folktale. In it, two little girls are seen by their long-suffering father as being lazy and disobedient. Although he threatens repeatedly to call the Cucuy to take them away, they scoff at the threats and even escalate their bad behavior. When the Cucuy does come and carts them away roughly to his lair in the mountains, the girls are horrified and frightened. Robledo does a great job of making his illustrations scary with wild rolling eyes, fierce dogs, and an appropriately hideous bogeyman. The prescribed happy ending comes when a shepherd finds the girls in a cave and reunites them with their grieving father. The authentically regional Spanish text reads very smoothly. Recommended for public libraries and bookstores. M.O.B. Rosa-Mendoza, Gladys. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.\ \ \ \ \ Children's LiteratureRemember stories about the bogeyman and how he was going to get you? Well here's one from Hispanic culture retold by Joe Hayes. This cautionary tale unfolds with strong, descriptive language in both Spanish and English. After the mother's death, a man must raise his three daughters alone. The youngest does all the work around the house because her two older sisters are too lazy and full of mischief. When their tricks go too far, the angry father calls out to the Cucuy (pronounced coo-COO-ee) to come down from his cave in the mountain and carry them away. The girls think this is just an idle threat until the Cucuy arrives and hauls them off. The poor girls are stashed deep in a cave where they truly regret their misdeeds. Father also regrets calling the Cucuy and spends his time searching for them. Finally the girls are rescued when a goatherder hears their cries. Once again united as a family, the sisters promise to be good. Bold colors in primitive style artwork add to the impact of the story. In the endnotes, the author admits that the story seems harsh in light of today's sensitivities. But his retelling has just the right touch. 2001, Cinco Puntos Press, $15.95. Ages 7 to 10. Reviewer: Marianne Mitchell\ \ \ School Library JournalGr 2-4-This bilingual retelling is a welcome addition for Spanish speakers who may recognize the bogeyman as el Cucuy. He is described as a gigantic old man with a humped back and a large, red left ear that can hear everything (on the cover el Cucuy's right ear is shown as red and huge). The legend goes that "Sometimes he comes down from his cave in the mountains to carry bad children away." A father, troubled by his two eldest daughters' disobedience and laziness, calls out toward the mountains "`aCucuy! aCucuy! Baja para llevarte a estas malcriadas.' Come and get these bad girls." The girls make fun of their father's belief in a bogeyman, and what happens next is not surprising-el Cucuy comes to get them and carries them away to his cave. In the end, the remorseful girls are reunited with their father. The vividly colored illustrations add much to the tale, especially the characters' large eyes, which give an eerie feel to the story. The note at the end is a wonderful resource on the history of this folktale.-Diane Olivo-Posner, Long Beach Public Library, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.\ \
