Tell Me a Cuento: Four Stories in English and Spanish

Written by Joe Hayes

Narrated by Joe Hayes

Do you know what a Terrible Tragadabas is? Or why the bossy rooster José can’t go to the wedding of his Uncle Perico? Or who gets to marry the butterfly, La Mariposa: the pig, the dog, the cat or the mouse? Or how come the elves gave the poor woman a pot of gold? Well, good news!

Nationally known storyteller Joe Hayes answers all these questions with four of his most popular tales told in English and Spanish.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
• Release date: Jan 1, 1989
• ISBN: 9781467675550

Joe Hayes

Joe Hayes’ bilingual Spanish-English tellings have earned him a celebrated place among America’s storytellers. He began sharing his stories in print in 1982. In 2005, Joe received the Talking Leaves Literary Award from the National Story telling Network, an award given to members of the story telling community who have made considerable and influential contributions to the literature of story telling. His books have received the Arizona Young Readers Award, two Land of Enchantment Children’s Book Awards, four IPPY Awards, a Southwest Book Award, a Skipping Stone Honor, an Aesop Prize, and an Aesop Accolade Award. They have been on the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List twice, and his book Ghost Fever was the first bilingual book to win the Bluebonnet Award.

Reviews for Tell Me a Cuento

[harrisrm · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

La Llorona/The Weeping Woman the legend about La Llorona, when I was a little girl. I was always scared of La Llorna sort of like the boogyman. La Llorna brings fear to children that disobey their parents. The book has great illustrations not too scary for young children. The book is written in English and Spanish.

[fvalle89 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Used as a read aloud for students. It's a spooky story passed down from generations to children to keep them from going outside in the dark or by rivers. Not recommended for ages younger than 9. I would be careful with this but it could be one that students choose on their own rather than a whole class read-aloud.

[odonnell_2 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The tale of La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) is familiar cautionary tale that many of my students' parents tell to keep their children inside at night. What may not be as well-known to my fourth graders is that this story has been told for hundreds of years in the Southwest, including California. Author Joe Hayes writes a bilingual story about how, in a fit of jealousy, a young mother drowned her children. Even though she immediately regretted her decision, she was not able to bring her children back to life. Hayes explains that this is why (especially on windy nights) La Llorona can be seen dressed in white and heard crying for her missing children. Vicki Trego Hill and Mona Pennypacker's illustrations are delightfully creepy. "Is the story really true?" Hayes asks. " Who knows? Some claim that it is . Others say that it isn't. But the old ones still tell it to the children, just as they heard it themselves when they were young."