Brujas, lechuzas y espantos. (Witches, Owls and Spooks)
Reviewed by Coop Renner, formerly from El Paso Independent School District, TX -- Críticas, 6/15/2008
Perales,.Alonso M.
tr. into English by John Pluecker. illus. by Giovanni Mora. U.S.: Piñata: Arte Público Press. 2008. 35p. ISBN 978-1-55885-512-0. pap. $9.95
Gr 4-8–Malevolent owls that sometimes take human form, and devout folk healers figure prominently in these tales that emphasize eeriness over horror. In one, a haunting owl snatches away both the father and one of the sons of a small-town family; in another, Death appears to a sick boy trying to lure him away; in a third one, an unwary young woman becomes pregnant after an evening of dancing with an owl in the form of a handsome youth. The Spanish and English versions appear as separate collections, each with its own front cover. A short introduction explains the prevalence of the owl in Hispanic folktales and the prominence of the local storyteller. While Mora's colorful owl on the covers is attractive and slightly menacing, the internal black-and-white illustrations are simpler and not terribly appealing. Oddly, Pluecker's English translation allows a few misspellings to slip in, and the one story that blends humor and fear hinges upon a Spanish pun that was replaced in English with an entirely different, and less successful, phrase. This brief bilingual collection that reflects the Hispanic traditions of Perales's home state of Texas is an additional purchase for school and public library collections. Bookstores may prefer to carry the popular Scary Stories series instead.
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