Legends of Ecuador for Kids: Bilingual Ecuadorian Folktales Young Readers (EnglishSpanish Edition)

Ten of Ecuador's most beloved legends, told side by side in English and Spanish. From a clever builder who outwits a mysterious midnight stranger in the streets of Quito to the ancient Galápagos tortoises who never learned to hurry, these ten tales carry your child from the smoking peaks of the Andes, through the Amazon rainforest, and down to the Pacific coast. Inside, your child will meet: - Cantuña, a builder racing to finish a church atrium before sunrise - Chimborazo and Cotopaxi, two rival mountain spirits who learn to be proud of each other instead of louder than each other - Sua, a girl who discovers what happens when a family forgets to give thanks to the earth - Kuartam, the smallest, quietest frog in the rainforest, who finds a jaguar's courage inside himself - Mateo, and the riverside stone in Cuenca said to glow warm for kindness - Facundo, a young shepherd who must earn back a hidden lake spirit's trust - Andrés, a baker's helper who crosses paths with a mysterious cloaked traveler in the old streets of Quito - Nenkihui, who gets lost deep in the rainforest after forgetting one important rule - Tomás, a fisherman who almost breaks a promise the sea won't let him forget - The giant tortoises of the Galápagos, and the secret behind why they've learned to move so slowly Every story appears in full in both languages - English first, Spanish just after - so the whole family can read together, whatever language feels most comfortable. Each chapter closes with a simple moral, and the back of the book includes a bilingual vocabulary section with exercises, so children build real reading confidence in both languages one story at a time. Perfect for: Ecuadorian-heritage families, bilingual classrooms, heritage-minded grandparents, young nature-lovers curious about the Amazon and the Galápagos, and any child ages 6-9 who loves a good story. Legends of Ecuador is part of the Gentle Folklore Books: Legends of the World series.