Jose Aruego (1930–2012)

Falling asleep on the back of his carabao one afternoon, a young Filipino boy finds himself transported into the nearby jungle in this charming picture book from Filipino-American author/artist Jose Aruego. There he must confront the asuangs—the ghosts and spirits of the Philippines—that his Lola (grandmother) had warned him about. Guided by her advice on how to conduct himself, Juan manages to safely get through encounters with a Kapre (a sort of cigar-smoking tree giant), a Tianak (a vampiric creature that disguises itself as a baby), and a group of Batibats (bamboo spirits). Eventually he finds himself confronting the fearsome Mananangal, the predatory creature that has been stealing all of the dogs and chickens in his barrio. Able to separate itself from its lower half, the Mananangal is off raiding when Juan arrives, and that clever boy (who knows to listen to his Lola!) devises a way to injure it, upon its return, and thereby save all the captive animals...

I have encountered and enjoyed Aruego's work many times before, both in the artwork he has created for other authors' picture-books—Robert Kraus' Leo the Late Bloomer, Joseph Bruchac's How Chipmunk Got His Stripes, etc—but Juan and the Asuangs is only the second of his own picture-books, after A Crocodile's Tale: A Philippine Folk Story that I have read. I am glad that I finally picked it up, as I found it quite engaging, appreciating the glimpse of various creatures from Filipino folklore, all previously unknown to me. The artwork was colorful, and had a cartoon-like style that wasn't precisely to my taste, but which worked well with the story. I finished the book wanting to read more about all of the creatures mentioned, so perhaps I need to track down a larger anthology of folklore from the Philippines. I'd also like to track down more of Aruego's books. Recommended to young folklore lovers, as well as to any picture-book readers looking for stories with a Filipino cultural background.… (mais)

"The Last Laugh," is about a snake who is not so nice to the other animals he sneaks up on. Each page of the book shows cartoon panels with beautiful illustrations of the animals. As the story begins, the snake sneaks up on a bird, a gopher, a mother rat and her baby mice, and then a duck. As the snake sneaks up on each animal, he hisses("Hiss!"). After the snake scares each animal, he laughs (Hee... Hee...) as they run away, except for the duck. As snake hisses, the duck flies into his mouth and the snake swallows him. Suddenly, the snake can only "Quack!" rather than "Hiss". A green and pink snake cross his path hissing. The orange snake quacks instead and they both laugh at him. As he quacks, he attracts a flock of other ducks. The first duck climbs out of the snakes mouth and he happily watches them fly away. The snake is unaware that one duck is behind him. The duck takes a deep breathe and lets out a loud "Quack," which startles the snake. The last page of the book states, "This book is dedicated to bullies everywhere." The message of the story is what goes around comes around.… (mais)