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Legends of the World
Child of the Sun: A Cuban Legend
Magnificent illustrations and captivating texts tell the legends of Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, the Americas, and Native America.
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Paperback
First published December 6, 1997
30 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 7, 2026
in my opinion I think this book is about the actions that we make and reasons behind them can affect everyone around us. in this case the sun wanted someone/something to admire him so he created a man. The moon noticed how lonely the man was, so she created a woman and together they had baby and put all their focus on him. the sun got jealous of the baby's attention so sun took him and said that he would not set and let moon take over. Eventually animals helped find the baby and earth, mother to sun and moon, woke up from her long sleep, she told sun that he could not keep up this endless day, all living things could die. eventually sun promised he would not to this again.
June 20, 2019
Multiple stories of creation, birth of man and worship. I did not get the Cuban feel in this story. This book was still a good read and had a different spin on these legends.
February 19, 2026
Do you want to learn about a Cuban legend? The author of this book learned about it and wrote her take to it and it is a cool book. It has really nice art inside with many colors. The story itself called out to me being Hispanic and hearing legends from my own country.
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November 29, 2013Summarize the book
In this book, the Cuban natives explain how eclipses happen. A long time ago, Sun and Moon were put in charge of the night and day when their mother Earth went to sleep. Sun, not being used to having nobody worship him, created a man to do just this. The man becomes lonely and Moon creates him a wife. The two have a child, and this annoys Sun as he created the man specifically to worship him. Sun wraps up Moon in webs and attempts to rule the sky alone.
Sun decides to steal the child and fights with Moon, Wind, and the creatures of Earth. In the end of the book, Earth awakens and forces Sun to give the child back to the couple. Earth gestures to Moon to come to her and, in that process, steps in front of Sun causing an eclipse. Earth tells Moon to bring back Sun, as they need him. However, once in awhile, Moon likes to step in front of Sun just to remind him of the promise that he must share the ruling of the sky with Moon.
Identify the characteristics from the text that support the specific genre
This story is a legend from the Ciboney tribe which were living on the island when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. The story is told in an oral style and is an origin story for eclipses.
Identify specific concepts that could be integrated into the classroom.
This story is actually a little tougher for a picture book. I think the themes of sibling rivalry and arrogance are very well covered in this book. The story shows that Moon and Sun do care for each other, but Sun is so arrogant he requires worship to stroke his ego. He cannot accept that the man he created to worship him has moved on.
The sibling rivalry is an important concept that an instructor could teach to younger students. The instructor can emphasize that, while our siblings can be pigheaded and stupid, they are still our siblings and we should love them. It’s clear in reading the story and the illustrations that Sun and Moon do care for each other.
Offer any other suggestions that would be useful regarding literary content, reading level, and other ways in which the book might be integrated.
This would be a great science integration book. The instructor could introduce the phenomenon of a solar eclipse. This is also a tougher-to-read picture book, so I would say that it is probably a late 2nd-early 3rd grade book. I doubt many 1st graders would be able to read this story.
In this book, the Cuban natives explain how eclipses happen. A long time ago, Sun and Moon were put in charge of the night and day when their mother Earth went to sleep. Sun, not being used to having nobody worship him, created a man to do just this. The man becomes lonely and Moon creates him a wife. The two have a child, and this annoys Sun as he created the man specifically to worship him. Sun wraps up Moon in webs and attempts to rule the sky alone.
Sun decides to steal the child and fights with Moon, Wind, and the creatures of Earth. In the end of the book, Earth awakens and forces Sun to give the child back to the couple. Earth gestures to Moon to come to her and, in that process, steps in front of Sun causing an eclipse. Earth tells Moon to bring back Sun, as they need him. However, once in awhile, Moon likes to step in front of Sun just to remind him of the promise that he must share the ruling of the sky with Moon.
Identify the characteristics from the text that support the specific genre
This story is a legend from the Ciboney tribe which were living on the island when Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. The story is told in an oral style and is an origin story for eclipses.
Identify specific concepts that could be integrated into the classroom.
This story is actually a little tougher for a picture book. I think the themes of sibling rivalry and arrogance are very well covered in this book. The story shows that Moon and Sun do care for each other, but Sun is so arrogant he requires worship to stroke his ego. He cannot accept that the man he created to worship him has moved on.
The sibling rivalry is an important concept that an instructor could teach to younger students. The instructor can emphasize that, while our siblings can be pigheaded and stupid, they are still our siblings and we should love them. It’s clear in reading the story and the illustrations that Sun and Moon do care for each other.
Offer any other suggestions that would be useful regarding literary content, reading level, and other ways in which the book might be integrated.
This would be a great science integration book. The instructor could introduce the phenomenon of a solar eclipse. This is also a tougher-to-read picture book, so I would say that it is probably a late 2nd-early 3rd grade book. I doubt many 1st graders would be able to read this story.
November 26, 2012
Get sucked in to this beautifully illustrated Cuban legend. Through the sibling rivalries and jealousy, the Sun and the Moon play out the events that result in the creation of what we know today as an Eclipse. This book is great to teach others about different cultures and their beliefs, and you will definitely find it on my classroom shelf.
November 26, 2015
Child of the Sun is a tale from the Ciboney people of Cuba which is both a creation story as well as a way to explain a solar eclipse. I really enjoyed reading this story and viewing all the cuban style artwork. I would use this book when discussing Cuba, folklore from different cultures, creation stories, or even a solar eclipse.
April 1, 2014
This Cuban legend explains how creation began, with Earth creating the Sun and the Moon, who in turn created man and woman.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews