Senor Cat's Romance and Other Favorite Stories from Latin America

by Lucia M. Gonzalez

Book Overview

A collection of popular tales told to young children in places such as Argentina, Cuba, Colombia, Nicaragua, and Mexico This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0590485377
• ISBN13: 9780590485371
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 10.2" x 10.3"
• Age Range: 3 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 2

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Latin American Folk Tales - And a Good Way to Practice Spanish

"El Romance de Don Gato" offers young readers and adults a fun way to practice Spanish while learning about folk tales from diverse Latin American nations. According to Lucia Gonzales, the reteller of these tales, many of these stories were handed down from her grandmother and her aunt in Cuba. However, what gave Ms. Gonzales the most pleasure was the similarity of these tales among persons from different and distant cultures. In addition, and perhaps not surprisingly, a number of these tales have incorporated oral traditions brought over by enslave Africans. Nevertheless, the themes of these tales are universal to children everywhere. The first tale is "Medio-Pollito," a story well known both in Spain and Latin America. It tells how a small chick was able to escape being part of the king's stew. The second tale is "Juan Bobo y la olla de tres patas." Juan Bobo is a popular character representing innocence, humor, and the strength of the country bumpkin; he figures prominently in Puerto Rican oral tradition. The third tale, "La Cucarachita Martina," is part of the childhood folklore of Spain and nearly every Latin American country, on par with such tails as "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and "The Little Red Hen." A little mouse again tries to escape becoming part of a stew. This version is hails from Cuba. The fourth tale, "El Chivo en la Huerta de Hortalizas," is the tale of a goat and an ant, telling of the innocence of an elderly couple and the funny ways in which they try to get the goat to go away from their vegetable garden. Readers of African-American folktales will recognize the fifth story, "Como Fue que Tio Conejo Engano a Tio Tigre." Tio Conejo, Brer Rabbit, is able to fool Tio Tigre. It is simlar to the "Massa tales," in which the slaves are able to outsmart their bumbling master, as well as a trickster tale in the Anansi tradition. In this story, Tio Conejo (the rabbit) fools Tio Tigre (the tiger) by covering himself with honey and leaves, in effect maiking himself a walking bush and surprising the tiger (represented in this story by a jaguar) and gaining access to a single watering hole. The final story, "El Romance de Don Gato," is an ancient Spanish tale told in verse, which can be either recited or sung. Variations of this tale exist in Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the United States. Each of these nicely retold stories is accompanied by cheerful and highly appealing color drawings by noted illustrator Lulu Delacre, making this book a pleasure to read and own.