EL CUCUY IS SCARED, TOO!

Ramón has a frenemy in El Cucuy, an anxious boogeyman.

Nothing is the same since Ramón and his family—and El Cucuy—have moved. The house is different, the night noises are different, and the new school will definitely be different. How can El Cucuy’s howling and growling frighten the boy when there are much scarier things out there? Will the school be too big? Will the kids make fun of how he speaks? Will he make any friends? He misses his old home, and so does El Cucuy—being uprooted is no fun at all. The frenemies take turns reminiscing about the good old days and reminding each other about when they were each brave and strong. Glowing red eyes in the closet? Who cares! Scratching at the window? Nothing a good loud rendition of “Cielito Lindo” can’t overcome. Before anyone can say “boo”—or “¡buuum!”—they’re arm in arm, brave and smiling. Higuera’s back-and-forth dialogue serves to defuse the duo’s mutual fear of the unknown with a point-by-point analysis of each potentially scary scenario. Spanish phrases are peppered throughout (one phrase in error); while there is no glossary, most should be accessible to readers who don’t speak the language. Perdomo’s whimsical illustrations portray El Cucuy as a hairy, fanged-but-cute dumpling of a monster, a far cry from the more anthropomorphic and mega-frightening creature of Mexican folklore.

This exploration of children in transition reminds readers that change can make even El Cucuy insecure.