Paco and the Witch

Today I received a book I had ordered at Better World Books.  It is the picture book Paco and the Witch written by Felix Pitre and illustrated by Christy Hale.  This story is his retelling of a Puerto Rican folktale.

     When reading the book, I discovered many elements of traditional tales that are interwoven in this beautiful retelling.  Paco is a boy that goes to get the “turron” that his mother had forgotten to pick up.  On his way, he finds an old lady that is really a witch and tricks him into her home where he is imprisoned with a spell.  In order to escape, he must guess her name.  The story echoes “Hansel and Gretel” in having an imprisoned child as well as “Rumpelstiltskin” in the guessing of the name.

     Paco desperately tries to guess the witch’s name as he is given tasks to fulfill like picking up “leña” as well as a “gandules”.  In his third task and last opportunity to free himself by guessing  her name, he is befriended by a crab who becomes the key to his freedom.

     The story ends as a pour quoi tale where the reader is told why nowadays a crab runs to hide whenever it sees a person nearby.

     In this rainy day where I was looking for a ray of sunshine, the picture book Paco and the Witch brought the Caribbean sunshine within its beautifully illustrated book.  It is a book which I would recommend to enjoy and share with the young readers of your life.