Title: Mora, Francisco X. The Legend of the Two Moons. Fort Atkinson, WI: Highsmith Press, c 1992.
Summary: Chucho the dog is looking for a place to sleep, because his family's fiesta is too noisy. He goes into the forest, where he hears a deep voice coming out of a tree. When he tells the voice that he is only looking for a place to sleep, Perico the parrot flies down and offers him a spot in the tree. Chucho makes his bed in the highest branches, where he notices that there are 2 moons in the sky. Perico is surprised too, and wants to get one of the moons for himself. Chucho says he should not take the moon, but Perico flies off, and pulls a moon out of the sky. It's too heavy for him though, and he drops it in the water. Chucho runs to the water to find the parrot crying over his lost moon. He scolds Perico for being greedy. But when the water calms, they see that there are still 2 moons; one in the sky and one in the water.
Cultural origins and how identified: The tale comes from Mexico. From the book's colophon: "Francisco Mora is an artist who creates whimsical fantasies using folktales to teach about real life. He is heavily influenced by his dreams and memories of his Mexican heritage."
Summary: Chucho the dog is looking for a place to sleep, because his family's fiesta is too noisy. He goes into the forest, where he hears a deep voice coming out of a tree. When he tells the voice that he is only looking for a place to sleep, Perico the parrot flies down and offers him a spot in the tree. Chucho makes his bed in the highest branches, where he notices that there are 2 moons in the sky. Perico is surprised too, and wants to get one of the moons for himself. Chucho says he should not take the moon, but Perico flies off, and pulls a moon out of the sky. It's too heavy for him though, and he drops it in the water. Chucho runs to the water to find the parrot crying over his lost moon. He scolds Perico for being greedy. But when the water calms, they see that there are still 2 moons; one in the sky and one in the water.
Cultural origins and how identified: The tale comes from Mexico. From the book's colophon: "Francisco Mora is an artist who creates whimsical fantasies using folktales to teach about real life. He is heavily influenced by his dreams and memories of his Mexican heritage."
Audience: The Amazon.com website says ages 4-8. I agree with this assessment, and think the tale would be good for library or classroom audiences. This would make a good addition to the study of world origin myths for older kids.
Notes on adaptation for telling: The story is sprinkled with a lot of Spanish words (though there is a glossary), so some practice would be needed for non-Spanish speakers (like me). I would preface the tale by talking with the kids about the moon and asking them: "Did you know that there were once 2 moons? What do you think happened to the other one?" I think this could add a bit to the mysterious quality of the tale.
Notes on adaptation for telling: The story is sprinkled with a lot of Spanish words (though there is a glossary), so some practice would be needed for non-Spanish speakers (like me). I would preface the tale by talking with the kids about the moon and asking them: "Did you know that there were once 2 moons? What do you think happened to the other one?" I think this could add a bit to the mysterious quality of the tale.
Cover image note: I could not find an image of the actual book, though I did find many of Mora's other books. The image I selected simply shows 2 moons.
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