Juan Bobo: Four Folktales from Puerto Rico (I Can Read Book 3) [Paperback]

Carmen T. Bernier-Grand (Author), Ernesto Ramos Nieves (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: K and up | Series: I Can Read Book 3

Mama puts Juan Bobo to work whenever he is having a good time. But he always finds a way to make work fun -- like using baskets instead of buckets to carry water, or sprinkling the pig with Mama's favorite perfume.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bernier-Grand retells a quartet of traditional folktales from her native land for this latest offering in the I Can Read series. Juan Bobo, a well-meaning scamp, tries to be good, but like a Puerto Rican Amelia Bedelia, he continually thwarts his mother by taking each of her instructions quite literally. Complaining that the water buckets are too heavy for him to carry, for instance, he's told by his exasperated mother to use something else. Juan Bobo settles on a pair of baskets, and the water, naturally, ends up in a puddle on the floor. In another story, an invitation to dinner and the attendant lecture from Mama on best behavior result in a comedy of errors--and one very hungry boy. The hot tropical colors of Ramos Nieves's stylized illustrations further enliven the tales, giving them a fiesta atmosphere. Spanish-speaking readers will find translations of the stories in the back of the book; the placement, however, seems a bit odd--surely it would have been more effective to allow the Spanish text to share the striking artwork. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3-Four charming folktales about Puerto Rico's beloved noodlehead, Juan Bobo. In one story, he uses baskets instead of buckets to carry water from the stream because they are lighter; in another tale, the boy dresses the family pig in his mother's clothes with amusing results. In the third tale, Juan Bobo takes his mother's advice to heart when he is told not to sneeze, scratch, or eat too much while he is a guest in a neighbor's home, and he ends up not having any dinner at all. Finally, he is asked to sell his mother's sugarcane syrup to some widows, who are described as being small, dressed in shiny black dresses, carrying fans, and speaking softly. When Juan sees some flies buzzing, he decides that they must be the widows. His completion of this chore is humorous and unique. The easy-to-read, large-print text is in English, with each of the tales reprinted in Spanish at the end of the book. The stories realistically reveal the rural culture of Puerto Rico at the beginning of this century. Nieves's illustrations vividly capture the vibrant colors and rhythms of the tropical countryside. The humorously depicted characters come to life in their expressions and attire. A delightful selection for beginning readers or as a read-aloud.
Jessie Meudell, California Polytechnic University at Pomona
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (August 24, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0064441857
• ISBN-13: 978-0064441858
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carmen T. Bernier-Grand grew up in Puerto Rico. She is the author of several children's books, including "Shake It, Morena" and "Juan Bobo: Four Folktales from Puerto Rico". She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Juan Bobo: Four Folktales from Puerto Rico, June 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Juan Bobo: Four Folktales from Puerto Rico (I Can Read Book 3) (Paperback)

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...

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Innocently Beautiful, Reminiscent of our Mulatto Heritage., December 1, 2002

By 

El Brujo "Brujo Hechisero" (Lowell, Ma) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Juan Bobo: Four Folktales from Puerto Rico (I Can Read Book 3) (Paperback)

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great little book!, September 19, 2011

By 

Nuri Sutter (Mill Valley, California, US) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Juan Bobo: Four Folktales from Puerto Rico (An I Can Read Book) (Hardcover)

An easy reader with great pictures. I wanted to collect as many Juan Bobo stories as I could and I was happy to find four stories in this book. However, I would have liked to have known in advance of purchasing this book what the four stories were titled. After purchase I found that I already had a book on one of the titles in this book so I really only got three new stories of Juan Bobo. For future prospective buyers, the four stories are: 1. The Best Way to Carry Water; 2. A Pig in Sunday Clothes; 3. Do Not Sneeze, Do Not Scratch...Do Not Eat!; and 4. A Dime a Jug.

I was very pleased with the seller of this book and received it in record time.