Song of el Coqui and other tales of Puerto Rico

authors: Nicholasa Mohr and Antonio Martorell

illustrator: Antonio Martorell

Viking, 1995

all grades 

Puerto Rican

After the furious god Huracán creates a storm because there was no music, he is awakened by the song of the tiny coquí “in the rivers, through the forests, in the flowers, in the palm trees, in the caves, even in the wind…coquí, coquí, coquí, it sang.” When La Guinea is caught by slave raiders in her little village, she is brought across the water to a strange place where she is rescued and befriended by a mask maker who is inspired by her beauty. After La Mula, abused by the bandits who own her, is befriended by an enslaved young man, the two escape and find their way to his community and freedom.

What connects these three stories is that each animal is related in some way to one of the three cultural groups in Puerto Rico. The tiny coquí represents the Taino people, the original people of the island; La Guinea, the guinea hen, represents the African people, brought to the island as slaves; and La Mula is a parable about the Spaniards who conquered the island and eventually became part of the Puerto Rican people. While the symbolism might be lost on younger readers and listeners, Mohr’s drama and humor and beautiful writing—“the sound grew louder and louder. It echoed once, it echoed twice. Soon the sound was everywhere…Coquí, coquí, it sang. In the rivers, through the forests, in the flowers, in the palm trees, in the caves, even the wind…Coquí, coquí, coquí, it sang”—is enhanced by Martorell’s vibrant pastel artwork, full of color and light. Together, storyteller and artist have created a stunning tapestry, a gift from the Puerto Rican peoples to the world. Highly recommended.

—Beverly Slapin

(published 4/7/13)

Old Letivia and the Mountain of Sorrows

author: Nicholasa Mohr

illustrator: Rudy Gutierrez

Viking, 1996

preschool-grade 6

Puerto Rican

The townspeople suspect her of being a bruja, but Old Letivia is a curandera and uses her teas, herbs and potions—and magic—wisely. When a screeching wind arrives in town and threatens to destroy everything and everyone in its path, the desperate townspeople ask for her help. So the brave old woman (wearing her apron and a small bag of herbs, just in case) sets off into the rain forest—with her whistling turtle, Cervantes, and her little boy, Simón (whom she found in a floating gourd)—for only she knows what must be done to put the town back together.

Caveat (not really): Some of Letivia’s magic—like rubbing hot pepper powder in your eyes in order to cry and sneeze so much as to create a pool of water so you can swim through the wall of fire and land on a Peak of Fear—well, it might be a good thing to warn young readers not to try these at home.

With Spanish words defined in the context, Old Letivia and the Mountain of Sorrows is a wonderful, exciting, slightly campy story that will entrance young listeners, who will also love Gutierrez’s bright, detailed, computer-generated art. Letivia, Cervantes, and little Simón (named after Simón Bolivar, by the way) literally glow, and not just from the arrows of fire spat at them by the giant king of toads. Highly recommended.

—Beverly Slapin 

(published 4/7/13)