In a time not so long ago and on an island not so far away lived a tribe of creatures called ciguapas. They lived in cool blue caves underwater and...
read full description
reviews
Mar 04, 2009
Abigail
rated it: 
A lovely retelling of a legend concerning the ciguapa, a tribe of beautiful people said to live in secret underwater caves in the Dominican Republic, The Secret Footprints follows the story of Guapa, a young ciguapa whose curiosity about humans endangers her people.
Tales of the "other" people - be they fairies, mer-folk, dwarves, or selkies - abound in world folklore, and an example can be found in almost every culture. This picture-book by the author of adult novels such a More...
Tales of the "other" people - be they fairies, mer-folk, dwarves, or selkies - abound in world folklore, and an example can be found in almost every culture. This picture-book by the author of adult novels such a More...
0 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Jun 22, 2011
Nicolewinter2011
rated it:
Illustrator: Fabian Negrin
Publisher: Random House
Year: 2000
Interest Level: K-5
Reading level: 2-4
Julia Alvarez shares folklore of her Domincan ancestors in this beautifully illustrated text. The illustrations by the Argentine Negrin add a surreal quality to the story about the Ciguapas, beings that live secretly in the water. Their feet are reversed, so humans have not been able to discover the existence of the Ciguapas. One Ciguapa, Guapa, is very adventurous and More...
Publisher: Random House
Year: 2000
Interest Level: K-5
Reading level: 2-4
Julia Alvarez shares folklore of her Domincan ancestors in this beautifully illustrated text. The illustrations by the Argentine Negrin add a surreal quality to the story about the Ciguapas, beings that live secretly in the water. Their feet are reversed, so humans have not been able to discover the existence of the Ciguapas. One Ciguapa, Guapa, is very adventurous and More...
Feb 10, 2011
Deborah
rated it: 
The cigualpas are a secret tribe of beautiful human-like creatures, with their feet turned the wrong way. They live in the water and only come on land at night to find food. They hide from humans to protect their species. One night Guapa ventured out to hunt and is seen by a boy. Guapa is chastised and she promises to be more careful. However, Guapa is intrigued by this boy and continued to go by his house to see if she could catch a glimpse of him. One day she comes across his family havi
More...
Jun 16, 2010
Jessica
rated it:
Apparently this story originates in the Dominican Republic, and I cannot say enough how beautifully written it really is. No matter how well the book is written however, it is the pictures that go along with this story that really make it shine! The ciguapas are said to have their feet on backward, and Negrin really made this stand out with his rich illustrations. The kids were enamored with these mythical creatures from page one.
Guapa is the main character in this story, and she is More...
Guapa is the main character in this story, and she is More...
May 16, 2010
Kay
rated it:
Very interesting tale about the legend of the Ciguapas. Apparently, the legend originates in the Dominican Republic and up until I read this picture book, I was totally unfamiliar with it. Basically, the Ciguapas are a mythical, underwater tribe of human-like beings who only come out at night (because they are afraid of people). The book tells the story of one very brave young Ciguapa girl who stumbles on to a friendship of sorts with a similarly-aged human boy. The story was intriguing and
More...
May 01, 2010
Lisa
rated it:
I read this for the May Picture Books Club at the Children's Books group. I wasn’t really in the mood for folktales, but I loved this story and its illustrations.
The illustrations are lovely, really special. Both the colors and the art style are very appealing.
The story completely engaged me. I enjoyed it much more than similar other stories I’ve read. I actually cared about the characters, both ciguapas and humans. There are some amusing parts, such as when what’s so fea More...
The illustrations are lovely, really special. Both the colors and the art style are very appealing.
The story completely engaged me. I enjoyed it much more than similar other stories I’ve read. I actually cared about the characters, both ciguapas and humans. There are some amusing parts, such as when what’s so fea More...
Apr 10, 2011
Maggie
rated it:
I like the mysteriousness of the footprints. That's my favourite part. And there's a little boy which meets the Ciguapa but she keeps it a secret. He didn't see the feet which are on backwards. And they live under water and they also can breathe underwater. They live in caves but no one knows about the secret of Ciguapas, their feet are on backwards in the story.
Mar 15, 2010
Kristin
rated it:
I really liked this book. This is the story of the Ciguapas (sea people with backwards feet). When one young see person sets out to discover the world she finds her self being discovered by humans. One human boy especially treats her kindly and she tries to tell her tribe that humans can be kind too.
I placed this story on my Native American shelf because Julia Alvarez said that this story has been told in the Dominican Republic, but she believes to have originated from Native Americ More...
I placed this story on my Native American shelf because Julia Alvarez said that this story has been told in the Dominican Republic, but she believes to have originated from Native Americ More...
Apr 06, 2010
Marjie
rated it: 
Gussie enjoys this book. It is mysterious enough to keep his interest (he is two)--great illustrations. I like that it includes some Spanish and cultural references.
May 12, 2011
Leslie
rated it:
Beautiful illustrations by Fabian Negrin; but I am becoming more and more a fan of Julia Alvarez. The tale she shares is new to me, and is of course, marvelously told.
L @ omphaloskepsis
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/2011/...
L @ omphaloskepsis
http://contemplatrix.wordpress.com/2011/...
Jun 21, 2010
Krista the Krazy Kataloguer
rated it:
I can truly say I've never read anything like this folktale from the Dominican Republic. People with their feet on backwards--quite a challenge for the illustrator! The existence of secret people, hidden from the everyday world, has always been intriguing, and this story is no exception. If Julia Alvarez has any other folktales or stories like this one, I'd love to hear them.
Jun 30, 2008
Corinneecomly
rated it:
Engaging story of the ciguapas, mythical creatures from the Dominican Republic. A young ciguapa comes in contact with humans and almost endangers the whole tribe. Beautifully illustrated.
Aug 25, 2008
Rebecca
rated it:
We've checked out this book at the library previously and when we read it again my children remembered everything about it. It is unforgettable.
Feb 01, 2012
Jan 16, 2012
Jan 03, 2012
Dec 20, 2011
Dec 19, 2011
Nov 28, 2011
Nov 27, 2011
Oct 30, 2011
Oct 08, 2011
Sep 27, 2011
Sep 27, 2011
Aug 14, 2011
