in English and Spanish
by Joe Hayes, Honorio Robledo (Illustrator)

Everyone hears at least one teasing reference to the "bogeyman" when they're growing up, but not everyone knows him by name. In the Southwest and much of Mexico, he's known as el Cucuy. (Pronounce it coo-COO-ee: draw the second syllable out like the hoot of a lonely night bird.)
With his humped back and his big red ear, el Cucuy was once a standard part of child rearing. Many Mexicans and Mexican-Americans will tell you, "I grew up with el Cucuy." And there are plenty of stories of lazy, disobedient children whose feet were set back on the straight and narrow path by an encounter with this ogre. Although today's parents no longer think it appropriate to rely on threats of calling the local bogeyman to come and carry their children away, the young still delight in tales of bad boys and girls, ones who are much worse than they are, getting the good scare they deserve from el Cucuy. Of course the best tales, like this one, always have a happy ending.
About the Author:
Joe Hayes is one of America's premier storytellers: a nationally recognized teller of tales from the Hispanic, Native American and Anglo cultures of the Southwest. He travels around the country to school, universities and professional conferences to tell his stories. His bilingual Spanish / English tellings have earned him a distinctive place among America's storytellers. Joe is the author of 19 books, nine of them in both Spanish and English.
About the Illustrator: Honorio Robledo was born in Tenancingo, Mexico in 1954. He grew up in Veracruz and Chiapas and moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1997, where he lives with his wife Luana and their two children, Amalia and Nicolás. His paintings, masks, sculptures and ceramics have been exhibited in France, Germany, Spain and Mexico. Honorio has been a comic strip artist since 1979. His strip "La Cubeta" runs in the La Opinión weekly in Los Angeles and appeared between 1991 and 1998 in La