Ramón has a frenemy in El Cucuy, an anxious boogeyman.

Nothing is the same since Ramón and his family—and El Cucuy—have moved. The house is different, the night noises are different, and the new school will definitely be different. How can El Cucuy’s howling and growling frighten the boy when there are much scarier things out there? Will the school be too big? Will the kids make fun of how he speaks? Will he make any friends? He misses his old home, and so does El Cucuy—being uprooted is no fun at all. The frenemies take turns reminiscing about the good old days and reminding each other about when they were each brave and strong. Glowing red eyes in the closet? Who cares! Scratching at the window? Nothing a good loud rendition of “Cielito Lindo” can’t overcome. Before anyone can say “boo”—or “¡buuum!”—they’re arm in arm, brave and smiling. Higuera’s back-and-forth dialogue serves to defuse the duo’s mutual fear of the unknown with a point-by-point analysis of each potentially scary scenario. Spanish phrases are peppered throughout (one phrase in error); while there is no glossary, most should be accessible to readers who don’t speak the language. Perdomo’s whimsical illustrations portray El Cucuy as a hairy, fanged-but-cute dumpling of a monster, a far cry from the more anthropomorphic and mega-frightening creature of Mexican folklore.

This exploration of children in transition reminds readers that change can make even El Cucuy insecure. (author's note, illustrator's note) (Picture book. 4-7)

-Kirkus Review

Summary: Ramon is having trouble sleeping, when out pops “El Cucuy” who tries to scare Ramon to no avail. This makes El Cucuy wonder, and so he asks Ramon why he is no longer scared of him. Ramon mentions all the other things that worry him, and why he has no time to be scared of him anymore. They discussed being in a new house, and El Cucuy admits how that scares him too, and Ramon goes on and on about all the things that worry him. Ramon becomes very down on himself for being so worried, and afraid of all the new things that he is faced with, when El Cucuy becomes a voice of hope. He reminds Ramon of how he would cope with him, and drown out his screeching, by singing until he fell asleep, or turn on a flash light and make him hide when he would make his eyes glow in the closet. After realizing that all those things he did were actually pretty brave, he finds new hope in himself to be able to confront his new surroundings, and fears.

Relevance: El Cucuy represents something scary that is no longer so scary after being faced with new and bigger worries. This represents comparing mattress to bigger matters in order to put things into perspective, and see how they are not so scary to begin with. Also, we see a powerful solution, and coping tool in talking about our fears. By doing this, Ramon finds hope, and the courage that he has had all along, which is a powerful message to share with my students. ( )

Its night and Ramon received a visit from El cucuy (a Latin American creature) who is surprised because Ramon is no longer afraid of him, Ramon explains that he is no longer afraid of him because there are things that scare him more, like his new school, but the cucuy tells him that he is also afraid! A cute story for little ones, explaining that even the bravest and most fearful things are afraid of new people and places. ( )

This story is a spinoff from a historic legend in the Hispanic culture that is used to scare children of the dark. In this book, the tables have turned in which now the scarer turns out is also afraid. I like this story because it takes a classic and turns it into a piece of reading that can be fun and less scary for children. ( )