Cuckoo/Cucú: A Mexican Folktale/Un Cuento Folklórico Mexicano (Bilingual English-Spanish)

My four-year-old daughter loves this book. She asks for it over and over. Tonight I even caught her looking at it under her night light. She doesn't want to return it to the public library tomorrow so I quess I'll be ordering our own copy soon. The story is beautifully illustrated with bold lines and attractive bright colors. And it is just as beautifully told in simple yet well wrought lines.

Cuckoo is a beautiful, but lazy bird. The owl, doves, and even the rooster get tired of Cuckoo flying around and singing beautiful songs all day. They complain she never does her share of the work! That is, until one day Cuckoo notices a field fire about to ruin the season's crop they had just worked so hard to plant. Cuckoo's apparent bravery is shown when she saves the seeds by carrying them to the mole's hole. This also demonstrates her willingness to put others' needs before her own beauty. Children of all ages will love the moral of this endearing story: "You can't tell much about a bird by looking at its feathers." This beautifully, brightly, authentically illustrated story is adapted from a Mayan Indian tale from Mexico. The bilingual text adds appeal to children of other cultures, or children wanting to learn the Spanish language. The front cover includes authentic drawings of ornaments with the Spanish/English vocabulary that is presented throughout the book. With the combination of bright illustrations that shine like the sun, a good moral ending showing bravery of the main character, and the bilingual text, young readers aren't likely to forget Cuckoo.

Cuckoo is a very beautiful bird with a gorgeous voice. The problem is she is extremely vain. Cuckoo does not help the other birds gather seeds for food. One day there is a fire, and Cuckoo is the only one awake. Cuckoo salvages all of the villages seeds by storing them in a mole hole. The soot from the fire has caused her feathers to turn black. When everyone recognizes Cuckoo and what she has done they are all very proud of her and forgiving for her selfish past.Note to teachers: This book has beautiful, colorful illustrations. You should definetly follow any activity you do with this text with an art project on mosaics with extraordinary colors. This book could be used to prove a very good moral lesson. Beauty is only skin deep, and no one person is better than the rest of the group. Everyone must pitch in their part. You could also use this to introduce a unit on Africa, because this is an African folk tale.