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Latino Folk Tales

These Latino Folk Tales are available from the Wisconsin Talking Book and Braille Library catalog.

Aardema, Verna. Borreguita and the coyote: a tale from Ayutla, Mexico. Borreguita (which means "little lamb") is taken by her owner to feast in a field of lush, red clover. She is approached by a coyote who has lunch on his mind. but the clever lamb outwits the coyote in this triumph of mind over muscle. A Mexican folktale. For grades K-3 and older readers. DB 35163

Alexander, Ellen. Llama and the great flood: a folktale from Peru. Retells the Peruvian folktale originally told in the Quechua language of the Andes. A llama dreams of a terrible flood and leads his Andean family to the peak of Willka Qutu, where animals of every sort have taken refuge. For preschool-grade 2 and older readers. BR 08935

Alvarado, Ana Maria. Anecdotas Cubanas: Leyenda y Folclore (Cuban Anecdotes: Legend and Folklore) Why do Cubans call their buses "guaguas?" Where does the name of Havanna come from? The Cuban- American author presents a collection of historical anecdotes and personal reminiscences that explain and illustrate many of the colorful aspects of Cuban language and culture. Spanish language. DB 46977

Alvarez, Julia. The secret footprints. Near a Caribbean island there lives a shy underwater tribe called the ciguapas, whose feet are attached backward. A young ciguapa girl's curiosity about humans almost gives away their secret when she encounters a human family having a picnic. Based on native Dominican folklore. PRINT/BRAILLE. For grades K-3. BR 13094

Anguissola, Giana. Los animales al principio del mundo, v. 1. The elements, plants, and animals tell their amusing stories of the earth's beginning and how things were before man's arrival. For grades K-4. Spanish language. DB 15428

Asturias, Miguel Angel. Leyendas de Guatemala. The Nobel prize-winning author translates Guatemalan Indian legends and myths. Includes "Legend of the Tangle," "Legend of the Volcano," "Legend of the Devil's Hat," "Legend of the Flowers," "Warlocks of the Spring Storm," and "Cuculcan." Spanish language. DB 17963

Avila, Alfred. Mexican ghost tales of the Southwest. Twenty-one Mexican ghost tales translated from Spanish. In "La Llorona," a widowed mother who drowns her three children is forced by God to roam the world's rivers searching for their bones. In "The Bad Boy," a young man kills his ailing mother but sinks into the riverbank where he tries to wash his blood-stained clothes. For grades 5-8 and older readers. DB 42686

Belpre, Pura. Once in Puerto Rico. Collection of Puerto Rico folk stories tells of early history of the island and its fascinating people. For grades 3-6. DB 12559

Bravo Villasante, Carmen, Compilador. Las Tres naranjas del amor y otros cuentos espanoles. Anthology of twenty popular children's stories from Spain. The title story deals with a prince who is cursed by a witch and must find the three oranges of love to regain his happiness. For grades 2-4. Spanish language. DB 26710

Cabrera, Lydia. Ayapa; cuentos de Jicotea. Jicotea, a small, cunning turtle, stars in this series of nineteen fable-like tales by a specialist in Afro-Cuban lore. Glossary of terms included. Spanish language. DB 12124

Cabrera, Lydia. Cuentos negros de Cuba. The Cuban author presents twenty-two stories and fables taken from Afro-Cuban folklore. The stories provide an insight into the spontaneity, humor, mythology, magic, and language of Afro-Cuban culture and feature figures such as Jicotea (Turtle), Venado (Deer), and Obaogo (Creator). The prologue includes biographical notes on the author and a critique of her work. Spanish language. DB 36778

Campbell, Camilla. Star mountain, and other legends of Mexico. Short tales from Mexican history tell of pre-historic Indian tribes, the conquistadores, padres, animals, miracles, holidays, and customs. For grades 3-6. DB 08982

Carter, Dorothy Sharp. Greedy Mariani and other folktales of the Antilles. Twenty folk tales about people, animals, and magic reflecting the Caribbean countries from which they are gathered. For grades 4-7. DB 09173

Chamoiseau, Patrick. Creole folktales. Dating from the colonial period in the West Indies, these Creole folk stories reflect an enslaved peoples' persistent struggle for survival and freedom. In "A Pumpkin Seed," an impoverished old woman is magically rewarded for nursing an injured bird back to health. For junior and senior high and older readers. DB 46047

Cuesta, Benedicto. El paisano. Collection of brief histories and essays that reflect the Indo-Hispanic cultural heritage of the southwestern United States, especially New Mexico. Includes passages dealing with the Virgin of Guadalupe, the mystique of Don Quijote, the status of women, and the renaissance of the Spanish language and hispanic traditions. Spanish language. DB 20748

Dary, David. The Santa Fe Trail: its history, legends, and lore. Traces the development and decline of the nine-hundred-mile trade route that linked Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Examines its cultural and political heritage from the arrival of the Spanish settlers in the New World through its replacement by the railroad. Relates personal experiences of travelers. DB 53106

Delacre, Lulu. Cuentos con sazón: cuentos y grabados en linóleo de Lulu Delacre. La familia de Carmen celebra la fiesta del año nuevo, y la Tía Josefina le presenta a Carmen un regalo que es un libro en blanco. En este libro Camen escribe las historias de cada uno de los huespedes que cuentan acerca de sus vidas anteriores en sus tierras natales de América Latina. Carmen también escribe las recetas favoritas de familia. Para grados 4 a 7. DB 53000

Delacre, Lulu. De oro y esmeraldas: mitos, leyendas y cuentos populares de Latinoamérica. Presentan doce cuentos adaptados del folklore indígena de América Latina. Incluyen cuentos que remontan a los Tainos del Caribe, los Zapotecas de México, los Muiscas de Colombia, y los Incas del Per y de Bolivia. Para grados 4 a 7 y lectores mayores. DB 50287

Delacre, Lulu. Salsa stories. When Carmen Teresa receives a journal as a present during her family's New Year's party, she records stories told by the guests about growing up in their Latin American homelands. Carmen also includes recipes for their favorite dishes. For grades 4-7. DB 50432

Dobie, J. Frank. Apache gold and Yaqui silver. True, colorful adventures about buried treasure and lost mines of the Southwest. Dobie made numerous pack trips across trails and mountains to authenticate his stories, and he supplies many details of personal experiences. DB 12999

Dobie, J. Frank. Coronado's children: tales of lost mines and buried treasures of the Southwest. Tales of treasure and the hardy men who searched for it, following in the footsteps of the earliest gold seeker, Francisco Coronado. First published in 1930. DB 13742

Dobie, J. Frank. A vaquero of the brush country; partly from the reminiscences of John Young ; preface by Lawrence C. Powell. Taking the "simple narrative of John Duncan Young’s reminiscences, Dobie uses it as the frame into which he puts all he knew of Texan history, range lore, longhorns, mustangs, razorbacks, cattle drives, Mexican banditry, Indians, Billy the Kid and other badmen, with the heroic figure of the vaquero, the Texan cowboy, unifying the book." DBC11960

Dorson, Mercedes. Tales from the rain forest: myths and legends from the Amazonian Indians of Brazil. Ten folktales reveal the Amazon Indians' desire to live in harmony with nature. Many are creation or origin myths that feature jungle animals and birds, humans with animal ancestors, and even humans changed into plants. An explanatory comment follows each tale. For grades 5-8 and older readers. DB 48122

Ehlert, Lois. Moon rope: a Peruvian folktale = Un lazo a la luna : una leyenda peruana. Fox asks Mole to climb to the moon with him on a grass rope. But half way up, Mole lets go and falls back to earth. To hide his embarrassment from all the other animals, Mole hides in a deep tunnel and now comes out only at night. A Peruvian folktale in Spanish and in English. For preschool-grade 2. DB 40759

Ellsberg, Robert. Todos los santos: reflexiones diarias sobre santos, profetas y testigos de nuestro tiempo. Un compendio de 365 perfiles breves, uno para cada día del año, sobre los santos y otras personas antiguas y modernas cuyas vidas y mensajes relucen como canales de la gracia en los modos ms sorprendientes. Incluye perfiles de los santos canonizados así como figuras importantes como Mohandas Gandhi, Anne Frank y César Chavez. DB 52977

Finger, Charles Joseph. Tales from silver lands. The folk magic of a land of silver cascades, mist-shrouded mountains, and wide pampas fills these nineteen South American stories. For grades 4-7. Newbery Award winner. DB 24830

Frias, Heriberto. Leyendas historicas mexicanas y otros relatos. Collection of over sixty stories and vignettes about Tenochtitlan, Anahuac, Moctezuma, Cuauhtemoc, Netzahualcoyotl, Huitzilopochtli, Quezalcoatl, and many other prominent figures and places of Mexican legend and colonial history. First published in 1898. Includes a biographical prolog about the author. Spanish language. DB 43960

Gonzalez, Lucia M. The bossy gallito = El gallo de bodas: a traditional Cuban folktale. In this Cuban folktale told in English and Spanish language, a bossy little rooster, elegantly attired, dirties his beak on the way to the wedding of his uncle, the parrot. He orders the grass to clean his beak, but to no avail. So the bossy gallito orders a goat to eat the grass, and a stick to hit the goat, and so forth, all without results. He then politely asks the sun to return a favor. For grades K-3 and older readers. DB 40244

Gonzalez, Lucia M. El romance de don gato. El señor don Gato va a casarse y est tan alegre que canta de su amor a las estrellas--pero acaba cayendo del techo. Este cuento y cinco ms integran esta colección de cuentos folclóricos de América Latina. Para grados K a 3 y lectores mayores. DB 50290

Gonzalez, Lucia M. Señor Cat's romance and other favorite stories from Latin America. Senor Sir Cat is so thrilled to be marrying that he sings his love to the stars above--and falls off the roof. Five other Latin American folktales complete the collection. For grades K-3. DB 46215

Griego y Maestas, Jose. Cuentos: tales from the Hispanic Southwest : based on stories originally collected by Juan B. Rael. Collection of twenty-three short folk tales that evoke the wisdom, customs, and values of the early Spanish settlers of the Southwest and their descendants. In English and Spanish language. DB 17076

Hancock, Sibyl. Esteban and the ghost. A merry Spanish tinker spends Halloween night in a haunted castle waiting for a ghost who has terrified the entire countryside. When the strange figure finally appears, it is unlike anything Esteban could possibly have imagined. A spirited tale for grade K-3. BR 05606 

Hayes, Joe. El Cucuy! A Bogeyman Cuento in English and Spanish. A retelling of the story of two sisters who disobey their father and are carried off into the mountains by El Cucuy. A bilingual tale for kindergarten-grade 3. Print/Braille. BRW 169

Hayes, Joe. La Llorona (The Weeping Woman): an Hispanic Legend told in Spanish & English. A retelling, in parallel English and Spanish text, of the traditional tale told in the Southwest and in Mexico of how the beautiful Maria became a ghost. Print-braille & cassette in Spanish and English for grades 2-4. Kit 112

Jaffe, Nina. The golden flower: a Taino myth from Puerto Rico. Relates the story of how Puerto Rico became an island. In the beginning the world had no water, no green plants or trees, and no flowers. But all of that changes when a young boy finds some seeds and plants them on top of the mountain. PRINT/BRAILLE. For grades K-3. BR 12021

Lagerlof, Selma. Leyendas de Jesus. Legends of Jesus' childhood praising his charity, justice, and love. For grades 4-6. Spanish language. DB 20698

Lattimore, Deborah Nourse. The Flame Of Peace: A Tale Of The Aztecs. To prevent the outbreak of war, a young Aztec boy must outwit nine evil lords of the night to obtain the flame of peace from Lord Morning Star. Grades 3-6. RCW 5709

Lepman, Jella. Cuentos de las buenas noches. A collection of 26 bedtime stories--some newly invented and some handed down from generation to generation--written by grownups and children. Spanish language. For grades K-2. DB 14483

Mejia, Medardo. Comizahual: leyendas, tradiciones y relatos de Honduras. Collection of more than forty narratives about the legends, traditions, and history of Honduras. The title piece presents a dramatic retelling of the myth of Comizahual, the Toltec goddess who taught economy and agriculture to the matriarchal tribes and who fell in love with a human. Spanish language. DB 48791

Mistral, Gabriela. The elephant and his secret / El elefante y su secreto. A fable telling how the elephant gets his enormous shape and how a secret helps him save all the world's animals. English and Spanish language. For grades 2-5. DB 08858

Montejo, Victor. Popol vuh: a sacred book of the Maya. Mythical and historical tales, known collectively as the Popol Vuh, recount the origins of the Mayan people in Guatemala. In these stories kind and vengeful gods, jaguars, tropical birds, deer, and monkeys appear. Glossary included. For grades 4-7 and older readers. DB 51159

Palma, Ricardo. Tradiciones peruanas. The 19th-century Peruvian author created a new genre of short story, called the tradition, based on historical facts and legends of Peru. The traditions are characterized by humor, satire, fantasy, and the picaresque and are set mostly in the colonial period of Peru. This collection contains over sixty traditions with a biographical and analytical prologue by Raimundo Lazo. Spanish language. DB 40868

Ransome, Arthur. Tontimundo y el barco volador: un cuento ruso. When the czar proclaims that he will marry his daughter to the man who brings him a flying ship, the Fool of the World sets out to try his luck and meets some unusual companions on the way. For grades K-3. Spanish language. DB 33882

Reid, Alastair. Mother Goose in Spanish. Popular nursery rhymes translated into Spanish. Spanish language. For grades K-3. DB 09416

Ribes-Tovar, Federico. Puerto Rico en mi corazon. Potpourri of Puerto Rican history, heroes, scoundrels, saints, music, food, and fun. For grades 4-7. In English and Spanish language. DB 11369

Rohmer, Harriet. Atariba & Niguayona. A short folk legend of the Taino Indians of Puerto Rico telling of a young boy who sets out on a quest for a magic fruit that will cure a dying young girl in his village. In English and Spanish language. For children and adult readers. DB 17752

Rohmer, Harriet. Cuna song = Cancion de los cunas. A short tale told by the San Blas Indians of Panama about a boy lost at sea who goes to live in the spirit world of the sea creatures. In English and Spanish language. For children and adult readers. DB 17751

Rohmer, Harriet. The headless pirate = El pirata sin cabeza. A short Costa Rican folk tale about a greedy pirate and the price he pays for his treachery. In English and Spanish language. For children and adult readers. DB 17753

Rohmer, Harriet. How we came to the fifth world = Como vinimos al quinto mundo. A short account of the Aztec legend telling how the gods of water, wind, fire, and earth destroyed the world four times because of human wickedness. In English and Spanish language. For children and adult readers. DB 17758

Rohmer, Harriet. The invisible hunters : a legend from the Miskito Indians of Nicaragua = Los cazadores invisibles : una leyenda de los indios miskitos de Nicaragua. This Miskito Indian legend set in seventeenth-century Nicaragua illustrates the impact of the first European traders on traditional life. KIT 66

Rohmer, Harriet. Land of the icy death = Tierra de la muerte glacial. A short tale of the Yahgan indians of southern Chile that tells how the hero Na Ha discovers a way to free his people from the wild creatures that live beneath the sea. In English and Spanish language. For children and adult readers. DB 17757

Rohmer, Harriet. The little horse of seven colors = El caballito de siete colores. A short folk legend of Nicaragua about a peasant boy who rises to wealth and respectability with the help of a clever horse. In English and Spanish language. For children and adult readers. DB 16968

Rohmer, Harriet. The magic boys = Los ninos magicos. A short folk legend of the Maya Indians of Guatemala telling how two magic boys living in the forest come to live in their grandmother's house. In English and Spanish language. For children and adult readers. BR 04479 / RC 17754

Rohmer, Harriet. The mighty God Viracocha = El dios poderoso Viracocha. A short folk legend of the Incas telling how men were created and placed on the earth by the god Viracocha. In English and Spanish language. For children and adult readers. DB 17759

Rohmer, Harriet. Skyworld woman = La mujer del mundo-cielo. A short folk tale of the Philippines about a sky goddess with the courage to unite the people of the earthworld and the gods of the skyworld through her marriage to a human. In English and Spanish language. For children and adult readers. DB 17756

Rohmer, Harriet. The treasure of Guatavita = El tesoro de Guatavita. A short folk tale, based on a legend of the Chibcha Indians of Colombia, telling of a priceless treasure protected by the goddess Bachue at the bottom of the lake. In English and Spanish language. For children and adult readers. DB 17755

Rohmer, Harriet. Uncle Nacho's hat = El sombrero del Tio Nacho. Uncle Nacho's hat is old and full of holes and of no use for anything anymore. After his niece gives him a new hat, Uncle Nacho tries to get rid of the old one, but it keeps coming back, time after time. Bilingual title in English and Spanish. A Reading Rainbows selection. For grades K-3. KIT 58 / DB 33670

Sahagun, Bernardino de. Spirit child: a story of the Nativity. An English translation of an Aztec Indian folktale that describes the birth of Jesus Christ and the miracles that occurred on the night of his birth. For grades K-3. DB 24485

Santiago, Esmeralda. Las Christmas: escritores latinos recuerdan las tradiciones navideñas. Veinticinco escritores latinoamericanos, que ahora viven en los Estados Unidos, recuerdan con nostalgia y afecto las tradiciones navideñas de sus paises natales. Entre las historias se mezclan recetas favoritas, canciones y poemas de Navidad. DB 46998

Saravia E., Albertina. Popol wuj: antiguas historias de los indios quiches de Guatemala. The Guatemalan author presents adapted and revised stories from Popol Wuj (The Book of the People). They relate the pre-Colombian mythology of the Quiche and Mayan people about the creation of the world, their gods and heroes, and their religious beliefs. Spanish language. DB 43979

Scieszka, Jon. La verdadera historia de los tres cerditos! Silvester B. Wolf, also known as the Big Bad Wolf, gives his own outlandish version of what really happened when he tangled with the three little pigs. For preschool-grade 2. Spanish language. DB 48678

Van Laan, Nancy. The magic bean tree: a legend from Argentina. A young Quechuan boy sets out on his own to bring the rains back to his parched homeland, and is rewarded by a gift of carob beans that come to be prized across Argentina. Americas award. For grades 2-4. BRW 67

Vernet-Gines, Juan. Los mas bellos cuentos de las mil y una noches. A collection of sixty-eight of the most beautiful tales from "The Thousand and One Nights," including "Aladdin and the Magic Lamp," "Sinbad the sailor," and "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves." Spanish language. DB 14379

Zajdman, Felix. Sonria, por favor. A collection of humorous anecdotes and jokes on politics, high society, lawyers, doctors, cops and robbers, men and women, and people in general. Spanish language. DB 15070