![]() ![]() “On the bustling city sidewalk in front of her building, Teresita anxiously awaits the arrival of her Tío Ramón, who has promised her something special for her seventh birthday, in A Surprise for Teresita, a bilingual slice of colorful, urban life from Virginia Sánchez-Korrol. Teresita’s anticipation will ring true to any kid who’s been saddled with an evening birthday party.” -Kirkus Reviews ![]() It also conveys Teresita’s awareness that she is becoming a “big girl,” a more grown-up person with more responsibilities and a wider view of the world. ![]() With painted illustrations that in near-photorealistic detail convey the emotions and activities of the many people around Teresita, the bilingual story is a simple slice of life that gets at the way so much can happen in half a day, even if the time seems to be dragging. “A young girl celebrating her birthday waits for a gift from her uncle, absorbing the sights and sounds of her city neighborhood. Ortiz.Ĭlick here to listen to an interview with Virginia Sánchez-Korrol about her children’s book, A Surprise for Teresita / Una sorpresa para Teresita. Children will be inspired to look at-and maybe even write about-their own neighborhoods with new eyes.Ĭlick here to listen to the English read-along by Raquel M. Set in a Puerto Rican neighborhood in New York City, this bilingual picture book for children ages 4 – 8 captures both the daily life of an urban community and a child’s excitement about her birthday surprise. And coming from far up the block where water sprays from an open fire hydrant, Teresita finally hears the sound of her uncle’s voice. Older people sit at their windows and enjoy the sights and sounds of their community. Boys and girls ride bikes and play stickball. Mothers hold their young children’s hands as they walk to the corner bodega to buy groceries. While she waits for her uncle, she jumps rope, plays games with her friends and watches the goings-on in her neighborhood. She listens for Tío Ramón calling, “Snow cones, cold snow cones. All day, Teresita watches for the green and white cart. Her uncle has to take his snow cone cart to the other blocks before he comes to theirs. “Is it time for Tío Ramón to come to our block?” she asks her mamá excitedly as she sits down for breakfast. She’s seven! And her Tío Ramón has promised her a surprise. It’s her birthday, and now she’s a big girl. In this day and age, most encounters with La Lechuza occur when she swoops down on cars that are driving on a deserted road late at night.When Teresita opens her eyes that morning, she knows it’s a special day. Once she has them in her sights, she swoops down on the confused and frightened individual and carries them off to her lair, where she may devour them at her leisure. And anyone who attempts to locate the source of the sound risks their lives, for they may become the Witch Bird’s next meal. It is said that when Lechuza locates her prey, she perches herself in a hidden area, and will then commence making strange whistling sounds or an eerie sound resembling the crying of a newborn baby. La Lechuza uses sound that bears a supernatural compulsion to lure her prey to her. Every night, she is said to transform into a five to six-foot tall bird (most commonly an owl) with the face of a beautiful or wizened old woman and enormous wings. In others, she is a woman that has sold her soul to the Devil in order to gain supernatural powers. Sometimes, she is the ghost of a woman who was widowed by a man who remarried, or was the devoted wife of an unfaithful husband. ![]() Legends say that she returned from beyond the grave as a ghost to seek revenge upon those who murdered her in the form of a human-sized bird with a woman’s face. La Lechuza, the Witch Owl, is said to be a witch that can shape-shift into an owl and is well-known throughout Mexico and Texas.Īccording to legend, La Lechuza was once a curandera (someone who practices white magic) who, after being exposed as a witch (or bruja), was killed by the angry and frightened townspeople. ![]()
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