El pájaro verde / The Green Bird

By Joe Hayes, Antonio Castro L.
Paperback: $12.95

An enchanted prince caught in the body of a green bird — who will help him overcome an evil trap, secure his transformation, and reclaim his kingdom?

Un príncipe encantado atrapado en el cuerpo de un pájaro verde, ¿quién lo ayudará a superar una trampa malvada, asegurar su transformación y recuperar su reino?

Description

One day, a very unique set of nine sisters, each with a different number of eyes, encounter a bright green bird. Mirabel, the two-eyed sister, is attracted to the bird’s sweet song, and the bird reveals to her that he is an enchanted prince. He proposes marriage, and although Mirabel’s sisters mock her and her mother forbids it, Mirabel sees past the bird to a handsome prince. When a cruel trap set by Mirabel’s envious mother forces el Pájaro Verde into a long journey of sickness, Mirabel searches for him around the world. When she finally finds a cure, she restores her husband to health in his human form and helps him become the prince he really is.

This captivating folktale, filled with intriguing plot twists and turns and many familiar folklore themes, has proven appeal to readers of all ages.

Un día, un grupo muy singular de nueve hermanas, cada una con un número diferente de ojos, se encuentran con un pájaro verde brillante que resulta también ser especial. Mirabel, la hermana de dos ojos, se siente atraída por el dulce canto del pájaro, y el pájaro le revela que es un príncipe encantado. Él le propone matrimonio, y aunque las hermanas de Mirabel se burlan de ella y su madre se lo prohíbe, Mirabel ve más allá del pájaro a un apuesto príncipe. Cuando una cruel trampa tendida por la madre envidiosa de Mirabel obliga al Pájaro Verde a un largo viaje de enfermedad, Mirabel lo busca por todo el mundo. Cuando finalmente encuentra una cura, le devuelve la salud a su esposo en su forma humana y lo ayuda a convertirse en el príncipe que realmente es.

Este cautivador cuento popular, lleno de intrigantes giros y vueltas en la trama y muchos temas folclóricos familiares, ha demostrado ser atractivo para lectores de todas las edades.

About the Creators

Joe Hayes

Joe Hayes is one of America's premier storytellers. He grew up in a small town in southern Arizona where he started learning Spanish from his classmates. As Hayes got older, he began reading the work of folklorists and anthropologists and gathering the old stories from the Southwest region. His books have received the Arizona Young Readers Award, two Land of Enchantment Children's Book Awards, the Texas Bluebonnet award, and the National Storytelling Network Talking Leaves Award. He lives in New Mexico.

Antonio Castro L.

Antonio Castro L. was born in Zacatecas, Mexico and has lived in the Juarez-El Paso area for most of his life. He was awarded a prestigious Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Honor for his illustrations in My Tata's Remedies / Los remedios de mi tata. He has also illustrated several other picture books for Cinco Puntos Press, including The Gum Chewing Rattler and My Pet Rattlesnake.

Awards

  • Aesop Accolades

    American Folklore Society

Reviews

  • * "Fans of this master storyteller will recognize and appreciate the rich complexity of this traditional tale... The plot offers many twists and turns and multiple folklore themes. The illustrator offers a realistic version of Hispanic beauty... The Spanish text is masterfully rendered and is given its own space on each page apart from the English. This is a true classic in the making."

    - Críticas
  • "Hayes' prose is unfailingly smooth and accomplished, both in English and in Spanish, and whether read or told. The illustrations are large, detailed, and imaginative: a sound match for the story. The just slightly shivery bird person, a cross between a quetzal and Mozart's Papagano, is a bravura touch. Pair this story with George Dasent's retelling of Peter Christen Asbjornsens's Scandinavian tale East o' the Sun, West o' the Moon... for a cross-cultural look at a classic fairy-tale motif."

    - School Library Journal
  • "With lush romantic paintings that are both realistic and magical, this bilingual retelling of a New Mexican folktale combines many mythical themes of enchantment and transformation. The protagonist Mirabel is a brave, beautiful young woman who, despite her jeering sisters, marries a bird, saves him from evil and helps him become the prince he really is. Before the happy ending, however, the story cunningly twists and turns... A final note fills in the connections with the oral tradition from medieval Spain to New Mexico. Heroes and monsters, horror and romance: a great read-aloud."

    - Booklist
  • "Joe Hayes, one of America's best storytellers, has done it again. He tells another classical story, in English and Spanish, from New Mexico's magical folklore, and he does so with mastery that only a master storyteller can do... Mexican artist Antonio Castro L. beautifully illustrates the book with assistance from his son Antonio Castro H. who helped with both the research and the illustrations."

    - REFORMA

Paperback

  • ISBN 9780938317906
  • Publication Date Oct 01, 2002
  • Trim Size 11 × 8.5 in
  • Weight 0.39375 lbs
  • Page Count 40
  • Interests

  • Audience Children
  • BISAC Category 1 JUV / Social Themes / Values & Virtues
  • BISAC Category 2 JUV / Fairy Tales & Folklore / Adaptations
  • BISAC Category 3 JUV / Royalty
  • Themes Animals, Bilingual, Conflict resolution, Courage, Cultural Diversity, Diversity, Dual Language, Families, Fantasy, Fiction, Folktale / Folklore / Traditional Literature, Latinx / Latino / Hispanic, Overcoming Obstacles, Siblings, Spanish
  • Reading Levels

  • Age Range Ages 7 - 11
  • Grade Range Grades 2 - 6
  • Guided Reading S
  • Spanish Guided Reading S
  • ATOS Book Level 3.7
  • DRA 40
  • Interest Level Grades 3 - 6
  • Reading Level 3
  • Bebop Reading Fluent
  • ADA Site Compliance-Accessibility Policy