Part of the "I Can Read" series for children, this collection of 4 folk tales from Puerto Rico is colorful and entertaining.

Four Puerto Rican folktales concerning Juan Bobo - that foolish hero who manages to come out on top at the end of every story, despite a series of misunderstandings and mistakes - are collected in this book aimed at beginning readers. Simply told, with humor and heart, Carmen T. Bernier-Grand's mini-anthology is sure to keep young readers entertained. Here, in The Best Way to Carry Water, they will learn that baskets, while lighter than buckets, are not as useful when it comes to transporting liquids. In A Pig In Sunday Clothes, which follows Juan's hilarious attempts to prepare his mother's pig for church, and Do Not Sneeze, Do Not Scratch...Do Not Eat!, in which our hero experiences a series of dinner-table miscommunications, they will find much to reduce them to giggling; while, in A Dime a Jug, they will be left with the happy assurance that all turned out well in the end...

The I Can Read Books of my own childhood were almost universally excellent, so I was glad to see that Juan Bobo, published long after I graduated from the beginning reader, holds up that tradition of high quality. The simple narrative reads well, and the accompanying illustrations by Ernesto Ramos Nieves, while not really to my taste, are colorful, and attention-grabbing. All in all, a very engaging title, although I did wonder why the Spanish versions of the stories were relegated to an appendix at the back of the book, as I think a bi-lingual approach would have worked very well here. ( )

Summary: This is a collection of folktales from Puerto Rico about Juan Bobo. Juan Bobo is a little boy who always seems to get himself into trouble. All the stories are set in rural areas of Puerto Rico at the beginning of the twentieth century. Juan Bobo goes to collect water for his mama, but is stunned to find that the water got lighter on his way back from the stream. Turns out, he has used baskets instead of pitchers. On another occasion, he dresses up the family pig for church. He sends the pig on his way, but the pig gets distracted by mud. He plays in the mud until Bobo’s mama finds him on her way home from church. She wrestles with him until she is covered in mud, too. She comes home, and Bobo says he wants to go to church next Sunday if they’ll be playing in mud again.

Reflection: This was an easy book to read—very simple. The stories were short, and the illustrations were bright. There was mention of some cultural objects that I felt could have been better explained. A mantilla was mentioned, and I am still confused as to what it is. It’s not a favorite of mine, but I could see how a child would think Bobo’s adventures were funny.

The one thing I did think was neat was the Spanish version at the back of the book.

Extension ideas: This book would be perfect for beginning a study on Puerto Rico. It’s always a great idea to show children a map and explain where it is the story takes place. I'd share with them some fun facts about Puerto Rico. Another fun thing to do would be to make the fried bananas mentioned in the third tale. I think the kids would enjoy experiencing a food from another culture