El Pájaro Verde / The Green Bird (Bilingual English & Spanish)

by Joe Hayes (Author) Antonio Castro L (Illustrator)

El Pájaro Verde / The Green Bird (Bilingual English & Spanish)
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

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?

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.

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School Library Journal

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.

ALA/Booklist

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.

Review quotes

* "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, starred review

"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

Aesop Accolades, American Folklore Society
IPPY Award, Independent Publisher Book Awards (IPPY)

Joe Hayes

Joe Hayes is one of America's premier storytellers. He grew up in a small town in southern Arizona and developed a lifelong interest in the cultures and creatures of the region. As Hayes got older, he began reading the work of folklorists and anthropologists and gathering the old stories from the Southwest region. His books for young readers have received numerous awards. He lives in New Mexico.

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 inMy Tata's Remedies/Los remedios de mi tata.He has also illustrated several other picture books for Cinco Puntos Press, includingThe Gum Chewing RattlerandMy Pet Rattlesnake.

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780938317906
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Cinco Puntos Press
Publication date
October 01, 2002
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV039220 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Values & Virtues
JUV022000 - Juvenile Fiction | Legends, Myths, & Fables | General
JUV034000 - Juvenile Fiction | Royalty (kings queens princes princesses knights etc.)
JUV012040 - Juvenile Fiction | Fairy Tales & Folklore | Adaptations
Library of Congress categories
Spanish language materials
Bilingual
Folklore
Fairy tales
Tales
Hispanic Americans
New Mexico

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