An assortment of animals parade through these entertaining tales. In "A Funeral for Nangato," a village of naive, proverb-quoting mice decide to bury their enemy, the cat Nangato, who deserves a proper funeral because one should "be good to those who treat you badly." But just because all the mice
say Nangato is dead doesn't mean he is! And in "The Brave Little Ant and El Senor Chivo," a tiny ant helps an old couple save their garden from a bad-tempered goat who is determined to eat them out of house and home. Even though the ant is small, she still manages to save the vegetables and the day!
Adapted by celebrated author Judith Ortiz Cofer, these Puerto Rican folktales will delight young readers ages 8-12, whether they're reading alone or with their favorite adult. Available in both English and Spanish, these stories featuring a variety of animals share lessons that will appeal to kids who enjoy animals and storytelling!
JUDITH ORTIZ COFER, the Regents' and Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Georgia, is an award-winning poet, novelist and prose writer whose work deals with her bilingual, bicultural experience as a Puerto Rican woman living on the Mainland. She is the author of numerous books, including Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood (Pinata Books, 1991), included in The New York Public Library's 1991 Books For The Teen Age and recipient of a PEN citation, Martha Albrand Award for non-fiction, and a Pushcart Prize; and An Island Like You (Peter Smith Publisher Inc., 1999), recipient of the Pura Belpre Award and named an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and an ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers. Other books for young adults include If I Could Fly (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2011), Call Me Maria (Orchard, 2004) and The Meaning of Consuelo (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2003).