Most Popular Books by Joe Hayes

When Joe Hayes was a boy, he loved to wear his black and white high-top sneakers. He wore them every day. “Get rid of those shoes,” his mother told him one morning. “They smell terrible!” But did Joe listen, did he believe what his mother said? Not until he met the back end of a skunk!

Rattlesnakes and storyteller Joe Hayes must have a thing for each other. Joe’s teamed up again with Antonio Castro to tell us how one day he saved a rattlesnake’s life. Sure enough, that made the rattlesnake so happy he followed Joe home. The snake became Joe’s pet. Just like a dog. Oh, wow, Joe’s tall tales get taller every year!

Another classic collection of stories from the rich tradition of northern New Mexico, told by master storyteller Joe Hayes.

Respected raconteur Joe Hayes is built for tall tales—he’s got the world’s longest legs! And Joe—who travels all over the United States telling stories to kids—says that The Gum-Chewing Rattler is the perfect tall tale for kids because it combines so many familiar experiences—chewing lots of bubblegum, getting in trouble in school, driving your mom crazy—with the wild, impossible claim that a certain rattlesnake chewed gum and blew a bubble with it. Couple that with kids’ natural fascination with poisonous snakes, and The Gum-Chewing Rattler turns out to be one of Joe’s most requested stories. Joe’s been telling this wild story for years, since before 1980, when he took those long legs of his out on the road. But now, that old gum-chewer is here for the first time in a picture book with full-color illustrations by Antonio Castro L. Here’s how Joe’s story goes: When Joe was a boy, he chewed lots of bubblegum, his mom got so mad because the gum in his shirt pocket made a terrible mess in the wash! But this wad of bubblegum just happened to save Joe from a rattlesnake’s fangs! Really!! Don’t worry—his mother didn’t believe the story either.

In his classic bilingual style, Joe tells the story of a haunted house in a poor little town in Arizona. Nobody will rent that house because they know a ghost lives there. So the landlord tries to rents it out for free. Still nobody will rent it. That is, until Elena’s father rents it. He doesn’t believe in ghosts. Lucky for Elena that her grandmother knows all about the ways of ghosts. Elena, with the help of her grandmother, resolves the mystery of “ghost fever”—and learns a lesson about life. Joe Hayes, who lives in Santa Fe, is an award-winning storyteller renowned especially for his stories in Spanish and English.

A bilingual middle grade collection of playful folktales from Afro-Cuban tradition in side-by-side English and Spanish text, featuring ingenious human, animal and magical protagonists. Did you know that fire first came from an old sorceress? Cuban folklore teaches us about how she selfishly kept it for herself, until two clever twin boys who “could play their drums as if they had magic in their hands” tricked the hechicera into sharing it with the world. Whether or not you grew up hearing the story of Obbara the Orisha, who gained his special power by appreciating even the humblest gift, or of the three resourceful baby herons who used their song Tin ganga o, tin ganga o, yo mama ganga reré to find their parents— this folktales collection will charm you with its humor, magic, and wisdom. In this Aesop Prize-winning book, reformatted for middle grade readers, folklorist and storyteller Joe Hayes shares stories he learned after years visiting Cuba and listening to local storytellers. He first visited Holguín, Cuba, the sister city of his hometown, Santa Fe, New Mexico, in 2001. He fell in love with the island and began to look for opportunities to meet and listen to Cuban storytellers, and to share the stories he knew from the American Southwest. He returned year after year, establishing a rich cultural exchange between U.S. and Cuban storytellers. Out of that collaboration came this fun collection of thirteen Cuban folktales. Joe gives context to the collection with an introduction and an all-important Note to Storytellers. In the Note, Joe goes over some of background of each of the tales included—what culture these stories originate from, some of the cultural meanings of elements in the stories, previous collections these stories have been included in, or other relevant storytelling and anthropological information. This collection is a wonderful resource for anyone trying to learn about the unique blend of Spanish, African and Caribbean influences on Cuban culture; for intermediate students of Spanish or English; storytellers looking to expand their repertoire; or anyone who enjoys a good folktale. Have fun reading and re-telling these stories yourself! “A captivating collection of thirteen folktales with influences from the Caribbean, Spain and Africa; Hayes has captured the essence and diversity of Cuba. Creation myths, legends and Pataki comprise this fascinating folktale anthology.”—REFORMA Joe Hayes’ bilingual Spanish-English tellings have earned him a celebrated place among America’s storytellers. He began sharing his stories in print in 1982. In 2005, Joe received the Talking Leaves Literary Award from the National Story telling Network, an award given to members of the story telling community who have made considerable and influential contributions to the literature of story telling. His books have received the Arizona Young Readers Award, two Land of Enchantment Children’s Book Awards, four IPPY Awards, a Southwest Book Award, a Skipping Stone Honor, an Aesop Prize, and an Aesop Accolade Award. They have been on the Texas Bluebonnet Award Master List twice, and his book Ghost Fever was the first bilingual book to win the Bluebonnet Award. Mauricio Trenard Sayago was born in Santiago de Cuba in 1963. He was raised by his family and society to believe in the power of art to educate and transform the individual and society. This environment strongly influenced him. His goal is to use his work to simplify, exaggerate or change how we see our current realitites so that we can make the world a better place. Mauricio came to the United States in 2000 and lives in Brooklyn, making his living as an artist and using painting not only to create new images, but also to explore himself in his new cultural context.

Christmas stories and legends.

Presents favorite Southwestern folktales of storyteller Joe Hayes, photographs of Hayes performing, and storytelling tips.

A little girl named Nanabah heeds her grandmother''s advice and calls upon the horned toad and the ants to help her when she runs into trouble on the mesa.

A young boy''s shyness and habit of fantasizing is mistaken for foolishness. A man who feels superior to the boy entertains himself by instructing the boy in correct terminology. The boy thinks of a way to get even.

A collection of classic tales from New Mexico, including "Pedro and Diablo," "La Hormiguita," "La Llorona," and "Juan Camisâon," in both Spanish and English.

Joe Hayes''s classic tale about the dangers of a rich man''s pride -- winner of two state awards -- is now available in a bilingual edition. El cuento clásico de Joe Hayes sobre los peligros del orgullo de un hombre rico, ganador de dos premios estatales, ahora está disponible en una edición bilingüe. In this lovely New Mexico folktale, a rich man tries to prove his wealth to his poor neighbors by using a new spoon for every bite. In the process, he''s served a pretty dish of comeuppance. En este encantador folklore de Nuevo México, un hombre rico trata de demostrar su riqueza a sus vecinos pobres usando una cuchara nueva para cada bocado. En el proceso, ha servido un bonito plato de merecido.

A collection of four stories presented in both English and Spanish.

La Llorona (yoh-ROH-nah) / The Weeping Woman is the ghost story to end all ghost stories, capturing the minds of both kids and adults in the U.S. and Mexico. In Spanish and English, master storyteller JOE HAYES retells the tale of a beautiful woman whose fear and jealousy dooms her to an eternal search for all she''s lost. It appears at first to be only a frightening story filled with mysterious events that cause children to sit wide-eyed, huddling together, listening spellbound. Yet it''s the simple, universal wisdom at the core of the story that finally works its magic in their hearts. La Llorona es el cuento de fantasmas que supera todos los otros. Por generaciones, ha cautivado las imaginaciones de ambos ni os y adultos en M xico y los Estados Unidos. En espa ol e ingles, el maestro autor JOE HAYES cuenta la historia de los celos y miedo que conden a una bella mujer a una b squeda eternal por todo lo que perdi . Primero parece ser solo una historia espantosa, llena de eventos misteriosos, que causa que ni os se sientan cerca, completamente fascinados. Pero es la sabidur a simple y universal al centro de la historia que trabaja como magia en sus corazones. La Llorona is available in a four-color edition in both paper and cloth. Joe''s chilling story of the crying ghost woman has sold over 600,000 copies and is truly the best known and most popular story of Hispanic America. La Llorona has more staying power than Batman and Wonder Woman combined. As proof, librarians tell us that Joe Hayes''La Llorona leaves the library more than they do, often not even bothering to come back--kids love her that much. She gives them the shivers La Llorona esta disponible en una edici n de cuatro colores en ambos papel y tela. La historia espeluznante que Joe cuenta sobre la mujer fantasma ha vendido m s de 600,000 copias, y es verdaderamente la historia m s conocida y popular de Latinoam rica. La Llorona es m s . Bibliotecarios y bibliotecarias nos dicen que sus libros de La Llorona escritos por Joe Hayes salen de la librer a m s que ellos y ellas, hasta a veces ni regresan-- tanto les gusta la historia a los ni os