Batiando con el diablo y otros cuentos de mas allá/Dancing with the Devil and Other Tales from Beyond

Gr 5–8—The title story is about a high school dance in which Joey hopes to dance with Marlen, his major crush, but doesn't get to her in time. Instead Marlen accepts an invitation to dance from the devil, which turns out to be fatal for her, and tragic for Joey, who could have saved her were it not for his inattention. Saldaña provides a La Llorona tale that mixes the original story with a more contemporary one in which the tragic scenario plays itself out again. In a second variant on the tale, "Have I Got a Marble for You," a boy who wants to win a marble tournament obtains a magic marble from a creepy kid who turns out to be working for La Llorona, helping her obtain a second child. In "Louie Spills His Guts," an old wives' tale literally comes true when Louie cuts his toe and then finds his leg swelling up. In Latino culture, a common phrase is "Sí Dios quiere" or, "If God wills it." This phrase is often used to respond to invitations when there is some uncertainty involved. In "God's Will Be Done" a girl who wants to go to a dance and meet a forbidden boy decides to do it whether God likes it or not. She finds out through the medium of a fierce bull that God doesn't really want her to go. All of these stories are full of uniquely Latino cultural elements.