Juan Bobo and the Horse of Seven Colors

This is our fifth Legends of the World book and we have loved every one of them!! This volume finds us in Puerto Rico, spending time with Juan Bobo, a young shepherd and we learn almost immediately that Juan Bobo is a fool, a simpleton, a dunce...bobo means fool in Spanish after all, we are told. As we join the story, a creature has been trampling the kings wheat fields at night and the king has decided that it must be guarded each night by a different man, unfortunately each in turn falls asleep and none discover what is trampling the wheat. It comes to Juan Bobo's turn and he figures he can do no worse than the others...they all fell asleep. He takes his bread and honey for dinner and makes such a mess of it that he's covered in ant show more bites shortly after he lays down to sleep. These bites keep him up, despite his strong desire to sleep and it is in this way that he manages to find and catch the animal that has been trampling the kings wheat.

The horse of seven colors offers to leave the field if Juan Bobo will let him go and will also give him 7 hairs from his rainbow coat if he'll let him go...Bobo agrees. As the horse flies off he tells Juan that each hair will grant him one wish. Upon returning home and telling the story to his siblings they mock him for letting the horse go, the king would have paid handsomely and they'd all be rich, but no Juan is such a bobo that he messes it all up for them. They then leave to the palace to see if they can make the princess laugh for a reward.

Despite this treatment by his siblings, Juan sets out to see how his siblings are fairing with the princess...along the way he inadvertently makes all but one of his wishes...with mixed and humorous results...and in the end, Juan turns out to be the best bobo possible...and happy too! It's a fun story with a moral to it that I think is well done in this Puerto Rican legend. Highly enjoyable reading for all ages!

What I like about this series is that the language is simple and straightforward, even if the point is a bit sometimes ambiguous...and the illustrations are a riot of color, giving the story a rich and vibrant feel! We enjoyed this tale and I would recommend this book without hesitation!

Overall, I think this series is a great basic introduction to a wide array of stories from many cultures the world over...a jumping off point also for kids to research more into the culture and mythology, legend and/or folklore of any given place. I'd recommend this for introducing young children to mythology and folklore. The age range cited is 9-12 which is probably the range of kids who would most appreciate and benefit from the story and additional information provided...but even younger kids (say 5-8) will love the stories and vivid, colorful illustrations...the stores aren't so complex or long that they will lose interest in them. I would definitely buy this for my permanent collection and hope to read more from this series soon! I give it a solid A...kids of all ages can enjoy this tale! show less

Juan Bobo is a silly man, but when he sets a magical horse free he receives seven wishes. We follow along as he uses his wishes and ends up a happy man.