Module 4: El Cucuy!

¡El Cucuy!

Retold by Joe Hayes

Illustrated by Honorio Robledo

ISBN: 0938317547

Publisher: Cinco Puntos, 2001

 Price: $15.95

Elements of Cinderella sneak into this Southwestern tale about a giant old man (El Cucuy) with a large red ear and extraordinary hearing. He hears when children act out and comes to steal them away to his cave high in the mountains. A widowed father with three daughters becomes upset with two of his daughters who are lazy and never help their kind and loving younger sister. He threatens to call El Cucuy to come for them if they do not straighten up. Feeling no guilt the sisters continue to play and skip out of helping their father and sister until one evening El Cucuy comes down from the mountain to steal the girls away. A happy ending with the family reunited and the girls changing their attitudes will ease young readers minds.

Reviews:

Publishers Weekly writes, " Robledo's shadowy, stylized paintings with background shadings reminiscent of ElGreco's works capture the terror of the wide eyed sisters.

"El Cucuy!." School Library Journal 47, no. 7 (2001): 94. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2052/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=4748277&site+ehost-live.

School Library Journal writes, "This bilingual retelling is a welcome addition for Spanish speakers who may recognize the bogeyman as el Cucuy. The vividly colored illustrations add much to the tale, especially the characters' large eyes, which give an erie feel to the story."

"El Cucuy!." School Library Journal 47, no. 7 (2001): 94. http://ezproxy.twu.edu:2052/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=4748277&site+ehost-live.