For Latinos and Hispanic people across the world, El Cucuy is a shadowy monster who will eat young children whole if they don't listen to their parents. In The Unlikely Aventuras of Ramón and El Cucuy, the titular creature is one of many, this one rendered as a monster-in-training: a cute, tiny, and fanged furball on his first mission to scare a boy who won't go to bed. Ramón, new to Seattle, however, is more scared of his first day of school than any monsters hiding under his bed. Newberry Award-winner Donna Barba Higuera (The Last Cuentista) balances literal potty humor and deep emotional resonance in this charming chapter book dotted with Spanish phrases and brimming with cultural appreciation.
El Cucuy, unable to scare the boy at bedtime, joins Ramón at school to learn what the child finds scary. Higuera's convincing world, where cucos and cucas revel in the stinky, rotten, and horrible, uses the monster's perspective to hilarious effect. "On the teacher's desk at the front of the room sat a vase filled with bright yellow... flowers! What a dump!" It's these silly moments that bring levity to the parallel narratives of new kid Ramón and the inexperienced Cucuy, both of whom are searching for a place to belong in worlds they don't quite understand. Together Ramón and El Cucuy find the courage to face the unknown and try something new.
Juliana Perdomo illustrates Higuera's whimsical scenes with a black, white, and purple palette and a scratchy line, depicting both fearsome monsters and giggle-worthy activities. Both text and illustration find a comfortable harmony between silly and sweet in this charming book that feels tailor-made for--what else?--bedtime. --Luis G. Rendon