Despite the title, Gonzalez's first book is less a scary story than a child's-eye view of life in Puerto Rico and the importance of community. For the most part, Mayte loves to see the street vendors who pass by her house, but she draws the line at the ice cream man, the grumpy Don Aparicio, who is—she is sure— el Cuco , the bogeyman. When Mayte and her friend Pepito see Don Aparicio carrying a squirming bag over his shoulder, Mayte is certain the man has kidnapped a naughty child, either for eating or for selling in the market. But their attempt to rescue the "child" turns up nothing but two chickens, and Don Aparicio has a chance to reveal the kindness beneath the crankiness. Rodriguez's illustrations are full-page color paintings, realistic, full of the details of life in the tropics, and perhaps a little old-fashioned. Suspenseful enough for read-alouds with younger audiences, Mayte's tale is probably too tame for older students, who might prefer the real bogeyman in Joe Hayes's El Cucuy (2003). Still, both Spanish and English texts flow smoothly, and even the suggestion of terror is sure to set younger hearts racing. (Picture book. 5-8)

Gr 2-4 Mayte enjoys interacting with all of the colorful street vendors who ply their wares in her townthe produce man, the egg seller, the knife sharpener, the newspaper delivery boy. All are friendly, kind, and interesting in various ways, except for the sour and bad-tempered ice-cream man. Don Aparicio constantly mutters about naughty children who need to be taught a lesson. Mayte comes to believe that he is the Bogeyman ( el Cuco ) who kidnaps bad children and eats them or sells them at market. When she and her friend Pepito see the man walking down the street with a squirming bag slung over his shoulder, they assume the worst and devise a reckless plan to save the captive child in the bag. Much hilarity ensues when the Bogeymans bag turns out to contain a couple of chickens. This fun story has an interesting enough plotline to satisfy even reluctant readers. The large illustrations depicting the various Hispanic characters in dynamic settings will also serve to draw in readers of all skill levels. The smoothly rendered text in both English and Spanish appears on the left-hand pages facing a full-bleed painting on the right.