Bossy Gallito / El Gallo de Bodas

I wasn't familiar with this folktalke, but it's about a bossy rooster who gets his beak dirty and then spends the rest of the story trying to get some blades of grass to clean his beak for him, la la. He uses threats of violence and natural disasters to cajole the recalcitrant blades of grass into

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doing his bidding. Finally he convinces his friend the sun to help him out, and the blades of grass finally clean his beak. Weird. I guess it ties into the "supremacy" of the rooster and how he has to prove his leadership and become the boss. Apparently the rooster plays an important role in the popular culture of Hispanic Caribbean cultures. (This I got from the last page which has a nice author's note section. Otherwise I'd be all, "huh?")

That said, the artwork is what makes this book worth cracking open. The book is full of many different kinds of beautiful, colorful birds including herons, toucans, parakeets, etc. In the background of the story is a wedding that the rooster is trying to get to and the illustrations of a great white heron in full bridal regalia are absolutely stunning. The illustrations also clearly convey a sense of place - the lushness of Little Havana is quite compellingly portrayed! Really lovely.

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The bossy rooster has a wedding to go to, and he must get his beak cleaned. He even bosses around the sun to get his mission accomplished before the wedding. This is a sweet, and funny tale. My students can learn that not everyone likes to be bossed around. I would read this during Reading when I

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am covering folklore. I could also have it in the class to help out any Hispanic ESL students.

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Using your manners can go a long way. The bossy gallito learned that lesson the hard and long way. Throughout the story the gallito (rooster) bosses around different objects in order to achieve a goal, however none of them will listen or obey his demands. Finally at the end of the story the rooster

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asks the sun for his final demand, but this time he says "Please!" This is an excellent refresher book for older students, as well as a great way to incorporate the Spanish language, and words into a lesson or activity.

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This Cuban folktale includes some Spanish words and is about a rooster that has grass in his beak and goes walks around seeking revenge on those who will not help him remove it. I had mixed feelings about this book after reading it. I liked the book because the story was told in first person point

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of view by the rooster. This made the book very interesting because the rooster conversed with other speaking animals and inanimate objects. One example of this is when the rooster who spoke to a stick. He said, “Stick, hit the goat who won’t eat the grass/ who won’t clean my pico so that I can go to the wedding of my Tio Perico.”
One thing I did not like was the message this book portrayed. The rooster is very demanding and belittling of others throughout the book. Eventually, he does get what he wants by seeking out revenge on all those that refused to do as he told. He received this satisfaction when he went to the sun saying, “Please, deal Sol, dry the water who won’t quench the fire/ who won’t burn the stick…” The sun replied, “With pleasure. My friend!” When the water heard that he would be evaporated he gave into the roosters demands and so did the rest of the animals and objects.” This message shows the reader that people can be rewarded for foul behavior and revenge.

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I love folktales, and enjoyed the illustrations and cadence of this Cuban folktale.