Cuckoo/Cuc£: A Mexican Folktale/Un cuento folkl¢rico mexicano

by Lois Ehlert, Gloria Andujar

Vain and selfish Cuckoo learns a lesson in humility and generosity when she undertakes a brave task in this tale told in both English and Spanish. “A book almost as much a piece of folk art as it is a folktale.”--Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Spanish Literature, Animals, Fiction, Art, Folk Tales

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Lois Ehlert has created numerous inventive, celebrated, and bestselling picture books, including Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Holey Moley, The Scraps Book, Mice, Ten Little Caterpillars, RRRalph, Lots of Spots, Boo to You!, Leaf Man, Waiting for Wings, Planting a Rainbow, Growing Vegetable Soup, and Color Zoo, which received a Caldecott Honor. She lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Reviews

[MaryAnn L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Plant a seed of imagination by reading Cuckoo: A Mexican Folktale by Lois Ehlert! In this book, there is a beautiful bird named Cuckoo. Cuckoo spends all of her time singing about how beautiful she is while the other birds work hard preparing to gather seeds the next day. Cuckoo stays up that night doing the same thing she always does—singing about how beautiful she is—but when a fire suddenly destroys the birds’ food supply, she is the only one awake and able to save the others. Cuckoo bravely flies through smoke and fire to gather seeds and move them to a safe place. During this, Cuckoo’s beautiful feathers burn away, and her beautiful voice becomes filled with smoke. In the morning, when the other birds wake up, they see the burned field. They soon figure out that Cuckoo sacrificed her beautiful feathers and voice, showing that she can be courageous and helpful despite her earlier selfishness. The major themes in the book were selflessness and courage. Throughout the book, selflessness is shown when Cuckoo risks herself to help the other birds after the fire, even though she was known for only caring about herself. Another major theme of this book is courage. Cuckoo shows great courage when she flies through the smoke and fire to save the seeds for her community. Even though she knows she will lose her feathers, she faces the danger anyway for the greater good. The main genre of this book is traditional literature, more specifically folktale. This book is a folktale because it teaches life lessons through animals acting like humans. Children reading this book could learn the importance of helping others, even when it might be difficult. They could also learn not to judge someone too quickly or harshly. Courage can come from anyone, even someone who seems selfish at first. This book was a WOW book for me because of Cuckoo’s transformational story. I enjoyed seeing how Cuckoo changed from selfish and lazy to selfless and courageous. I also enjoyed all of the illustrations in the book; I believe they made the book feel different from any other book I have ever read.

The author used multiple literary devices and other forms of writing craft in this book. First, the author used the writing craft technique of repetition. An example of this technique from the book is when Cuckoo repeatedly sings and admires herself throughout the beginning of the story until she can barely do so at the end. This technique enhances the quality of the book by showing that even though Cuckoo is the same bird from the beginning, she has changed drastically through her actions. Second, the author used the writing craft technique of imagery. An example of this is when the author describes the fire and the bright, bold picture of the smoke and seeds. This technique enhances the quality of the book because it helps readers visualize the danger Cuckoo faced and understand how important and brave her actions were. The author portrayed anti-bias perspectives in this book by showing that even someone who seems selfish can grow as a person and do good things. Cuckoo’s story teaches readers not to judge people too quickly or based on appearances. Cuckoo shows that everyone has the potential to be brave and helpful, no matter what others might think of them.

[Alessandra]

Is it fair to judge someone based on their appearance? In this book Cuckoo was a beautiful parrot who loved to sing. Despite that, she was perceived as lazy and selfish due to her appearance, and the other parrots ostracized her. It was not until a forest fire came along and Cuckoo decided to act quick and take the seeds the birds have been collecting to a safe location. The story demonstrated that physical characteristics lack in showing what someone is or isn’t capable of and we shouldn’t judge off things they can’t change.

I find this story to be a good choice for children as they are able to learn that people that look different then them aren’t much more different then they may think. Which is why I found one of the themes of this book to be focusing on actions rather than appearance. Furthermore, children can understand the importance of community when reading this book by reading how Cuckoo sacrificed herself in order to aid the rest of the parrot community. Which is why the second theme of this book was community.

This book covered a Mayan folktale, with the same plot and storyline which is why this book’s genre is considered to be a folktale. Although Lois Elhert’s unique style of illustration brought the story to life with her use of different patterns and bright fun colors.

This book was a WOW book for me because of it’s use of color and because it reminded me of another story, The Ugly Duckling. Although I have never read that book, I do remember being told about it in my childhood, where one duckling didn’t look like the rest and therefore was treated poorly. I find this story to be a WOW as the parrot proved the other parrot wrong due to her selfless actions and served as nostalgia.

The author used multiple literary devices and other forms of writing craft in this book. First, the author used the writing craft technique of personification. An example of this writing craft from this book is when the author chose the characters in the book. This story looks at a community of parrots which enhanced the quality of the book by allowing children to understand complex lessons in a simple format, lessons of which I have stated earlier in this review.

Second, the author used the writing craft technique of imagery. My favorite example of this writing craft from this book is when the author drew the sun next to Cuckoo with covered in ash.This writing craft technique enhanced the quality of the book because it demonstrated the hard work of the parrot, which used to be filled with color is now full of ash. I also loved the small detail of the author drawing the sun and moon with faces because in the Mayan religion, the sun had a big role and was used to symbolize growth.

This book highlights the importance of being anti-bias because making judgments about people is not always true and fails to benefit anybody.

[Courtney Ingraham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would use this book in a kindergarten class when introducing patterns, shapes, and geometry. Lois Ehlert illustrations are perfect examples of putting shapes together and create something.

[Kest Schwartzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cut out puppet illustration style is fascinating, the story is pretty great, and the telling is worth reading aloud.

[Karla · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit long for little ones
Love this author and the collection created
Very unique style to the illustrations
Loved it

[Tihare · Rating 1 out of 5]

Completely took a different turn of the folktale I thought it was going for.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This feels like a mash-up of "The Grasshopper and the Ant" and the adage "You can't tell a book by its cover".

But maybe Cuckoo could have yelled for help at some point?

[Yazmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Mexican folklore presents colorful illustrations about Cuckoo and her vanity, but never judge a book by its cover, you might be surprised at what you find.

[Michelle Castillo]

Community. Don’t judge a book by its cover.

[Jeimy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved how the illustrations were inspired by Mexican crafts.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cuckoo by Lois Ehlert is a retelling of a Mexican folktale about how the cuckoo got its black feathers. The book is written in both English and Spanish and uses traditional styles of Mexican arts and crafts for its illustrations.

When the book begins Cuckoo is shunned by the other birds. She is colorful and loves to sing. She's so busy singing she doesn't think to help the other birds save their seeds for the winter. For this she is called vain.

But when a fire comes, Cuckoo is given a chance to prove herself. She loses her beautiful voice and her colorful plumage but she gains something in return.

My children are divided on Cuckoo. My son considers it one of his favorite picture books. My daughter, while she likes the bright illustrations, found the story too long for her tastes. I'm somewhere in the middle. I love the illustrations and I liked the English text but the Spanish translation lost some of the rhythm in the process. Certainly the meaning but the simple English became a tongue twister in Spanish.

[Ro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a passion for the spanish language and this book is absolute great story with beautiful pictures. You can choose to read the english or have a go at the spanish...
This book is about Cuckoo the bird that just loves herself and all the other animals think she is lazy. But when something happens cuckoo proves the other side of his character. A great moral for all ages and the colours are mesmerising. This would also be a great book to read as part of Lnaguages, drama or art. Age 3 and above.

[Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting folktale from Mexico about how the cuckoo's feathers became black. The lesson of not to judge a bird by its feathers is beautifully written in both English and Spanish. I wish the text of each language was a different color to make for easier distinction. The illustrations, however, are certainly not lacking in vibrant colors. Ehlert's illustrations incorporate many artistic styles from Mexican culture.

[Sara]

The cuckoo drives all of the other birds crazy with her constant singing, so much so that when a fire threatens the food supply, the other birds sleep through most of it because they are so tired from Cuckoo’s singing, and Cuckoo saves the day by flying back and forth carrying seeds, but the smoke fumes have damaged her voice and hereafter it is rough instead of beautiful like it was before. This book is simultaneously in both English and Spanish.

[Robyn Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic Mexican folk tale that is told in both English and Spanish. It's great for Hispanic ELLs, especially those who are already readers. At the beginning of the book there are symbols of animals and other things that are labeled in English and Spanish. The symbols would be a great craft to do with paper cut outs!

[Edna · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the birds think Cuckoo is vain and lazy - when she is the only one that can save the seeds to be planted for food, what do you think she does? These bold, bright geometrical shaped illustrations are powerful and creative.

[Kerri Harshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book full of wonderful pictures! Students can learn a great lesson about outside apperences not being important. The book has the wrods written in English, but are also translated into Spanish on each page.

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

Simultaneaously in English and Spanish, so a great learning tool for children trying to learn either language. The illustrations are cut colored paper; a neat style, but kind of boring. In fact, the story itself was kind of boring.

[Christine Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A traditional Mayan tale which reveals how the cuckoo lost her beautiful feathers.

Subject: Mayas -- Folklore
Tales -- Mexico
Indians of Mexico -- Folklore
Folklore -- Mexico
Indios de Mexico -- Folklore.

Note: Could this be made into a shadow puppet show?

[Armando · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the story of a beautiful bird that did not do his work, until a fire threatens the food supply and he worked so hard until all the seeds were safe.

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent choice for Hispanic Heritage Month.

[Jordin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was one of my favorites as a child. I still have it. It's a beautiful story with wonderful pictures and is told in english and spanish.

[Tara Pietrucha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story. I love it. Written in both English and Spanish with amazing illustration.

[Andria · Rating 3 out of 5]

The colors in the illustrations blend together a little too much.

[Tianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 3 year old loved this book. He loved the story and pointing to the different pictures. Spurred him to ask a lot of questions.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great story about selfless devotion to friends. Alissa was very sad that Cuckoo's feathers were blackened. She wondered if it was permanent.

[Leo]

A Mexican folktale very well presented. Illustrations are typical and the message simple.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Folktale
Mexican art

[Madison O'Hara]

This is a Mexican folktale about apperance and it's importance. The book is actually written in both English and Spanish and has both texts on the same page. The pictures and cut paper designs and really go well with the story. It is a good way to show kids a little bit of the Mexican culture in a very authentic way. Good book for almost any age group of elementary school.