Author & Storyteller: Antonio Sacre
Grade Level: K-3; 4-5; & 6-8
While my picture books are published for 4-8
year old readers, I have distinct storytelling
programs for all grade levels, as well as a
general performance for all ages.
Each assembly can be done in English, Spanish,
or bilingually, in a way that if a student is
learning Spanish or English, they can still enjoy
the assembly
Group size: classroom or 50-60 in a multi-purpose
room or any size that works for you and your
school
Presentations: 4 sessions/45 minutes each
Equipment needed: A corded microphone (NOT a cordless, lapel, or Lavalier!) on a stand
NOT attached to a podium, a small table or stool to set the book on,
and a glass or bottle of water, no ice.
Email: asacre@earthlink.net
Website: www.antoniosacre.com
Other Info: - book availability – LOCAL BOOKSTORES or online sources like
Antonio’s page on www.amazon.com
From the Author:
Through it all, I want most to inspire students to remember, gather, write, and retell
their own specific cultural stories, especially from the older members of their family
Through my stories, I want to delight my audiences with the humor, warmth, and
joy of my own bilingual and bicultural background. Growing up in America with a
Cuban father and an Irish-American mother, I am one of the few “leprecanos”
telling stories, and the rich cultural tradition on both sides of my family informs
everything I do as a performer and an author.
In an assembly, I encourage active listening from the students through
creative and fun use of gesture and repetition. I weave the Spanish language,
Cuban customs, and Irish humor into whatever story I tell, whether it’s one
of the many folk tales I know from around the world, or a
personal story from my own cultural background.
. Lastly, I want to share with bilingual students the rich blessings I have
experienced because of my being bilingual. As Mamá Mouse says in my book
The Barking Mouse, “It pays to speak another language!”
Books:
A Mango in the Hand
Francisco is finally old enough to journey to the mango grove all
by himself to gather the mangoes for a special dinner. But bees
swarm the fruit, and Francisco has trouble picking them from the
tree. He returns to his father several times, and each time his
father shares a different proverb to inspire Francisco to continue
trying. "Querer es poder. Where there's a will, there's a way!" On
his way home he stops to share his mangoes with his uncle,
grandmother, and aunt, and by the time he gets home he no
longer has any! "Es mejor dar que recibir. Sometimes it's better
to give than to receive."
Click HERE to view some inside pages
To see Antonio telling his story of A Mango in the Hand to a young audience, click here
Awards: 2004 International Reading Association Notable Books for a Global Society
Reviews:
Kirkus Reviews
A "story told through proverbs" could easily go terribly wrong, but this sweet tale succeeds beautifully.
This smoothly written family story is filled with warmth and humor and incorporates a blending of wellplaced proverbs in both Spanish and English to drive the story’s themes. Digitally colored pencil-andink drawings reflect the lush greens of summertime and outdoor living in this intergenerational barrio.
Parents' Choice
Francisco’s papá has many words of wisdom for him, including the admonition that “mejor un mango
en la mano que cien en el árbol,” or “better one mango in the hand than a hundred in the tree.” It’s
Francisco’s saint day, and he really wants to celebrate by picking fresh mangos—the trouble is in how
to get them from the bee-filled branches and all the way home. Antonio Sacre’s picture book is full of
humor and family, with a fusion of Cuban Spanish and English.
La Noche Buena
Nina is visiting her grandmother in Miami for Christmas. Usually she
spends it in snowy New England with her mother and her family, but
this year is different. She isn’t certain what to make of a hot and
humid holiday, until she learns the traditions of her father’s side of the
family from her Cuban grandmother. She helps prepare for the evening
and takes part in all their traditions—the intricate cooking for the feast,
the dancing, the music, and the gathering of relatives and neighbors. It
all comes together for a Noche Buena that Nina will never forget.
Reviews:
From School Library Journal
Sprinkled with Spanish words, this book introduces readers to the preparations for a Cuban-American
family's Christmas Eve feast. Nina goes to visit her paternal grandmother in Miami's Little Havana (“It's
my dad's turn to have me, and he wants me to see how the Cuban side of my family celebrates the
holidays”) even though she would rather be up north with her mother and “lots of snow!” Her father
has told her that La Noche Buena is the best night of the year in many Cuban homes. For three days
Nina helps her abuela as the women in the family prepare the marinade for the roast pig. When the big
night finally arrives, the girl experiences all the joys of eating a magnificent meal with her family,
attending Misa del Gallo (midnight mass), and then celebrating with music and dancing. A glossary of
Spanish words and phrases is included.
The Barking Mouse
Mamá, Papá, Sister, and Brother Ratón go for a picnic on a
beautiful day. After a delicious lunch of medianoches and
lemonade, Mamá and Papá smooch—eeewww!—and Brother and
Sister must find something to do. And what could be more fun than
teasing the cat behind the fence? But the fence isn't as high as
they think! Faster than they can say, "Adios, Gato!" Brother and
Sister are racing back to Mamá and Papá with the cat in pursuit.
The brave Ratón family knows what to do—hide behind Mamá! But
what will Mamá do?
Click HERE to view some inside pages
To see Antonio telling his story of The Barking Mouse to a young audience, click here.
Awards: 2004 International Reading Association Notable Books for a Global Society.
Reviews:
From Booklist
Sacre heard this story from his Cuban grandmother, and though there are other versions from other
places, this one is especially sprightly. Mama, Papa, Sister, and Brother Mouse go to a picnic. While
Mama and Papa spend time smooching, the children go off to play and eventually come upon a cat
behind a fence. As they laugh and tease the cat, they fail to notice that it's getting angrier; when the
cat jumps over the fence, the chase is on. Papa has "big muscles," but when the cat catches up, it's
Mama who protects the children--by barking. The cat decides that Mama is loco and moves on.
Although told primarily in English, a sprinkling of Spanish words and phrases, translated within the text
and in a glossary, adds an authentic note. The amusing artwork features a family of big-eared mice, full
of personality and love for one another; that mother and father certainly enjoy kissing!
“Keepers of the Word” from Teaching Tolerance Magazine, Fall 1999
Spinning Tales, Learning Language
Perhaps no one better understands the need for non-English speaking students to be heard in American
classrooms than Chicago-based storyteller Antonio Sacre, but he also knows that one's message is only
as effective as the listener's ability to comprehend its meaning. In his work as a bilingual storyteller, he
tries to communicate the importance of being able not only to speak but, equally, to understand
different languages.
Though born to an English-speaking Irish American mother and a Spanish-speaking Cuban father,
Sacre grew up monolingual -- Spanish being his primary language. On his first day in kindergarten,
however, he says he was made fun of so badly for speaking Spanish that he "quit the language"
altogether and took up English as his only mode of speech so that he wouldn't stand out and be
thought of as un-American. It wasn't until he became a teenager that he realized just how much of life
he was missing by being monolingual.
"The turning for me," recalls Sacre, "came about when I realized that my Cuban grandmother was
getting older, and I wanted to hear her memories of Cuban life before she passed on. She told me she
would never learn English because she was too old, so if I wanted to speak with her, I needed to be
able to speak Spanish again."
Sacre isn't sure when the ability to speak English and no other language became the litmus test of a
person's "American-ness," but, through the messages he conveys in his stories, he strives to diffuse
the antipathy some Americans feel toward the acquisition of foreign languages and bolster the
relevance of being bilingual.
"For instance, there's a funny story I tell about a cat threatening a mouse's family," Sacre says. "To
stop the cat's threats, the mother mouse stands up and barks at the cat. The cat, surprised, thinks that
all the dogs will hear and come and chase her, and so the cat runs away. The mother mouse then turns
to her children and says, 'You see, it pays to speak another language.'"
For Sacre, being able to communicate in two languages is fundamentally fun, and he tries to bring the
same approach to his storytelling technique so that his listeners -- monolingual or bilingual -- will get
the true meaning of what he is trying to express and pick up some words of a language they are
perhaps hearing for the first time.
"When telling bilingual stories to multilingual audiences," explains Sacre, "it's important to employ a lot
of repetition, refrains and gestures so that I can reach everybody.
"If I know that the majority of my audience is made up of Spanish-speaking kids, with a few English
kids, what I'll do is set up the story in Spanish first, all along emphasizing the physical gestures that
give the story meaning. For example, if a part of the story goes, 'She gives me a kiss, I wipe it away
and she walks toward the door,' I'll enact all of that, so that when I start speaking in English for the
English-speaking kids, I'm doing the same gestures, and the Spanish-speaking kids can follow along."
According to Dr. Helen Jorstad, professor of second-language acquisition and cultures education at the
University of Minnesota, Sacre's storytelling technique is one of the best ways to introduce unfamiliar
languages to children.
"The introduction of a second language through storytelling permits students to actually learn through
osmosis," says Jorstad. "Children get so absorbed in the action of the story they are listening to that
the language sort of seeps into their brains around the edges. The story gives the new language the
children are learning such a rich context and foundation that it doesn't come across as 'different' or as
'foreign' as they had thought."
Biography:
Antonio Sacre, born in Boston to a Cuban father and IrishAmerican mother, is an internationally touring writer, storyteller,
and solo performance artist based in Los Angeles. He earned a BA
in English from Boston College and an MA in Theater Arts from
Northwestern University. He has performed at the Library of
Congress National Book Festival, the Kennedy Center, the
National Storytelling Festival, and museums, schools, libraries,
and festivals internationally.
His retelling of the story The Barking Mouse was published as a
picture book by Albert Whitman and Company in March, 2003. He
is a frequent commentator on National Public Radio’s Latino USA.
His storytelling recordings have won numerous awards, including the American Library
Association’s Notable Recipient Award, the Parent's Choice Gold and Silver Awards, and the
National Association of Parenting Publications Gold Award. He was awarded an Ethnic and Folk
Arts Fellowship from the Illinois Arts Council.
As a solo performer, Sacre has performed in festivals and theaters in New York City, Los
Angeles, Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Chicago, where he performed under the tutelage
and mentorship of Jenny Magnus. At The New York City International Fringe Theater Festival,
Sacre was awarded a Best in Fringe Festival award for Excellence in Acting, and a Best in
Fringe Festival award for Excellence in Solo Performance.
He has been featured in Teaching Tolerance magazine and People en
Español, as well as all the major newspapers in Chicago, San
Francisco, Miami, as well as in the LA Times.
Since 1994, he has taught drama, storytelling, and writing to teachers
and students nationwide, and worked as artist in residence with youth
in four inner city high schools of New York, Chicago, and South
Central Los Angeles. He is a sought-after keynote speaker for diversity
trainings across the country.
© 2015 by The Friends of the Children’s Library of Huntington Beach, CA