The Golden Cage

The Golden Cage
La jaula dorada

BOOK DESCRIPTION

A grandson’s desire to find the best gift for his grandmother results in an exploration of giving, love, and freedom. A good story for discussing extended families, as well as illness and disabilities.

One of the beloved titles of the series Stories the Year’ Round, or in Spanish, Cuentos para todo el año. The complete stories of the series are:

SPRING
A Rose with Wings
A Surprise for Mother Rabbit
The Empty Piñata

PRIMAVERA
Rosa alada
La sorpresa de Mamá Coneja
La piñata vacía

SUMMER
How the Rainbow Came to Be
After the Storm
In the Cow’s Backyard

VERANO
Cómo nació el arco iris
Después de la tormenta
La hamaca de la vaca

FALL
The Kite
What Are Ghosts Afraid Of?
“Turkey for Thanksgiving?” “No, Thanks!”

OTOÑO
El papalote
El susto de los fantasmas
–¿Pavo para la Cena de Gracias? –No, gracias.

WINTER
The Golden Cage
I Don’t Want to Melt
It Wasn’t Me

INVIERNO
La jaula dorada
¡No quiero derretirme!
No fui yo

CDS AND CASSETTES DESCRIPTION

There is a special value to listening to a books read by the author. Such recordings show just where the author wishes to convey feelings and emotions, emphasis and suspense. When the text is put to music it acquires additional interest for children.

I particularly like to read aloud and to record my readings so, for me, it was particularly joyful to record these twelve stories in English and Spanish.

The stories can be found in individual cassettes in English and Spanish, one for each book of the series, or in CDs in English and Spanish versions. Each of the CDs contains the twelve stories of the series.

A Special Bonus

Because these stories have been so beloved by children, I conceived the idea of given them an extra dimension. I have rewritten the 12 stories in Spanish in verse format. And Suni Paz, with her incomparable creativity, has put them to music. So the Spanish cassettes and CD contain not only the story as published in the book told by me, but also the story retold in verse form and sang by Suni.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The twelve books of this series are some of my best well known books among bilingual teachers and their students. They are also very dear to my heart since the inspiration for most of them comes from my own children’s childhood.

Many moments of my children’s lives combined to inspire this book. They loved birds and over some time raised many birds. I have always felt great ambivalence about caged birds, because I love the birds, but I reject the idea of them being in a cage. And, then, at one time, when my aunt Virginia was spending some days at our home she made a very strong statement about having caged birds, and that gave us the energy to end up having birds in cages.

My children have always been very devoted to my mother, their grandmother, and thus it was very natural to use a grandson’s love for his grandmother as the pivotal theme in the story.

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READERS’ RESPONSES

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