Juan Bobo: Four Folktales from Puerto Rico

I bought this book last Christmas for my son, 6 years old. I was looking for Puerto Rican folk tales that his Grandma who is Puerto Rican could read to him when she came to visit. Being not Puerto Rican myself, I had no idea who Juan Bobo was - but she did. She remembered Juan Bobo stories from her own childhood in Puerto Rico. She loved reading the stories to my son and he loved hearing all the silly antics of Juan Bobo. He still asks her to read Juan Bobo when she come to visit. The stories are simple and fun and there are 4 separate short stories in this book, as the other reviewer described, all with great, bright-colored illustrations.

From a Puerto Rican father of three daughters, and as many Puerto Rican families, my children come in various tones of color. My eldest is Castillian White with Hazel eyes, and my twins one is dark with beautiful curly hair, she took the side of my Mother's African Yoruba background, the other, straight dark hair, with her beautiful Taino colored skin that comes from my fathers side. I bought this book way back in August 1996. ( I date all my children's books) and it has held a very important spot in our personal library. I can not agree withy the other review on this book. It has nothing to do with racial. Take it from me, a Puerto Rican male of mixed backgrounds who follows an African Spiritual tradition. This book is Innocently Beautiful, Reminiscent of our Boriquen Mulatto Heritage. Africano + Taino + Castillano = Puerto Rican.It is 4 classic tales of Puerto Rican folklore, from the legendary Juan Bobo. The Stories are told buy mulatto author and writer, Carmen Bernier, and Ernesto Ramos Nieves. The illustration are beautiful in a childish way, bright colors that are so remanisant of the Puerto Rican rural countryside. If you look at the characters closely, no one is truly white, as was stated in a review prior to mine. In fact if you look at the "White" neighbor, she has the appearance of a mulatto, as does every one in the book. Also she lives in a wooden casita, as does Juan Bobo and his Mother. This book is very much true to our Boriquen People on the island, it is not uncommon to see in one family, different tones and different colors. All the tales in this book are classics in Puerto Rican literature and folktale. The stories are as follows.There are many books out there about Juan Bobo, and each one is a gem, and the stories presented here can be read in other books. But this is "An I Can Read Book" Aimed for younger children. Infect it was this book that one of my daughters read buy herself from front to back. I love this book and highly recommended. The stories are as follows.The Best Way to Carry Water, A Pig in Sundays Clothes.Do Not Sneeze, Do Not Scratch..... Do Not Eat.and A Dime A Jug.. Each one is a classic as verbally passed down to our parents from our Abuelos, and their Abuelos.

I love to read this book to my students. My favorite of the four tales is "A Pig in Sunday Clothes." The illustrations and Juan Bobo himself are adorable as well as silly. Puerto Rican traditions are also depicted in the drawings: rice and beans, plantains, vejigantes...