Mexican Folktales
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-- School Library Journal, 10/30/2007
Folktales are excellent vehicles for exploring a culture and its values. Class, heritage, food, and religion are all major contributors to Mexico’s rich storytelling tradition. Compare these stories to Greek myths and Native American folklore, or use them to complement Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead, Nov. 1–2) discussions.
EHLERT, Lois. Cuckoo/Cucu: A Mexican Folktale/Un Cuento Folklorico Mexicano. tr. by Gloria de Aragón Andújar. illus. by author. Harcourt. 1997. Tr $17. ISBN 978-0-15-200274-9; pap. $7. ISBN 978-0-15-202428-4.
PreS-Gr 3–Cuckoo is vain and lazy, but proves herself otherwise when a fire threatens her family’s food supply. This simple story of the bird’s change of heart (and feathers!) comes alive with Ehlert’s cut-paper collages, inspired by Mexican folk art. Told in both English and Spanish, this book is great for reading aloud and will prompt discussion on being judgmental and self-sacrifice.
GERSON, Mary-Joan. Fiesta Femenina: Celebrating Women in Mexican Folktale. illus. by Maya Christina Gonzales. Barefoot Bks. 2001. Tr $19.99. ISBN 978-1-84148-365-8.
Gr 3-6–From the hungry goddess Aztec creation tale to the more familiar story of the Virgin of Guadalupe, these eight stories are lovingly illustrated with the symbols and characters key to understanding and remembering each one. Gerson provides source information, a pronunciation guide, and a list of Spanish words and phrases in an appendix.
HAYES, Joe. La Llorona/The Weeping Woman: An Hispanic Legend Told in Spanish and English. illus. by Vicki Trego Hill & Mona Pennypacker. Cinco Puntos. 2004. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-938317-86-9; pap. $5.95. ISBN 978-0-938317-02-9.
Gr 3-5–This is an authentic and lyrical retelling, in both Spanish and English, of arguably the most famous Mexican folktale, about the pride, jealousy, and grief of a beautiful woman. María marries her dream man–rich and handsome–but becomes filled with rage when he begins to ignore her, and vents her anger on her children. Her ghost still wanders the riverbanks searching for them.
MCALISTER, Caroline. Holy Molé! illus. by Stefan Czernecki. August House/LittleFolk. 2007. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-87483-775-9.
K-Gr 3–Mexican tradition holds that the dark, aromatic molé sauce was the accidental discovery of either a simple monk or a convent nun. McAlister puts a twist on the tale by introducing Carlos, a young orphan, as the catalyst for the creation of this recipe that combines common ingredients in an unusual way. Simple illustrations support the story, which works well as a read-aloud.
See also our Curriculum Connections article on Day of the Dead.
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