All the Stars in the Sky: Native Stories of the Heavens

All the Stars in the Sky: Native Stories from the Heavens
Author: C.J. Taylor
Publisher: Tundra Books
ISBN-10: 0887767591
ISBN-13: 978-0887767593


All the Stars in the Sky is a beautiful book. I’m always a big fan of collections of old folktales, myths and legends, especially when they come from the Americas because there was so much that was lost. Anything reclaimed or re-told is good in my mind. We need our culture and our history. I believe it’s vital. In this book, the author draws on many traditions and their legends inspired by the skies. Each is beautifully told as well as gorgeously illustrated.

I loved the legend of the Old Man and the Sun’s magical leggings. It was witty and funny. The sweeping illustrations in bright sun-colored tones really added depth to both the story and the humor. The illustration of Old Man sitting in the lake to cool himself off after misfiring the leggings arrows of flames was just too great. I laughed and laughed at that one.

Every time we save a legend from our indigenous past, we honor our ancestors. Every time we tell a story from our ancestors, we teach a history lesson to our children. Each story is a pearl of culture, of tradition and fosters both understanding and pride. Our children need these foundations to stand upon. This book is a prayer, an offering to the ancestors. I encourage everyone to buy it, not just those of us who are indigenous. Children will love the stories as will adults. Highly recommended!


About the Author:
C.J. Taylor is an internationally acclaimed artist and children’s author of Mohawk heritage. She has traveled extensively throughout North America helping make the rich cultural history of native people accessible to the young. Her paintings are in many private collections across Canada and the US. She is a self-taught artist and storyteller who has organized exhibitions of Native art across North America. All the Stars in the Sky is C.J. Taylor’s eleventh book. She lives in B.C.

ABOUT THIS BOOK (from the publisher)
________________________________________
The heavens — the sun, the stars, and the moon — have inspired, intrigued, and mystified us from the beginning of time. We’ve always searched for ways to comprehend their beauty and their meaning. Mohawk artist and author C. J. Taylor has drawn from First Nations legends from across North America to present a fascinating collection of stories inspired by the night skies.

The legends — Salish, Onondaga, Blackfoot, Netsilik (Inuit), Wasco, Ojibwa, and Cherokee — are by turns funny, beautiful, tragic, and frightening, but each one is infused with a sense of awe.

From the Ojibwa legend of the great hunter, White Hawk, and his love for an unattainable maiden, or the Salish legend of a magical lake that is threatened when human beings turn greedy and lose their respect for its gifts and for the sun’s power, to the delightful Cherokee legend of Grandmother Spider who brought light to the world, this is an important collection that is enhanced by Taylor’s glorious paintings.

A Gift of Gracias : The Legend of Altagracia

A Gift of Gracias : The Legend of Altagracia
Author: Julia Alvarez
Illustrator: Beatriz Vidal
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
ISBN: 0375824251

Julia Alvarez is the author of many wonderful books including, Before We Were Free, winner of the Pura Belpre Award. In A Gift of Gracias Ms. Alvarez pulls from the legends of her Native Dominican Republic to weave a magical, meaningful and completely charming story.

A Gift of Gracias is the story of María who loves on a finca where her family are trying unsuccessfully to grow olives. One day María’s father and Quisqueya, the Taino Indian that is part of the family bring home a basket of oranges as payment for work they had done in the city. As María’s father talks of moving his family to the city where there is work, María begins to cry into her bowl of orange pits. That night, she dreams of planting oranges on the barren land and of a beautiful woman wearing a robe of stars who says that her name is Nuestra Senora de la Altagracia.

The next morning, María tells her family of the dream and they all gather the orange seeds and begin planting them, saying gracias after each individual seed is placed into the waiting earth. In just a few short months, the trees are fully grown and give a bounteous harvest of oranges. As María’s father and Quisqueya prepare to take the oranges into the city to sell them, María asks her father to bring her an image of the Señora de la Altagracia. Her father searches but no one has such an image and he and Quisqueya head back to the finca. As Quisqueya sits in the night, he sees la Señora in the sky smiling at him. Stars fall and Quisqueya catches them with his blanket.

When they arrive home, it is far too dark to pick the oranges and Quisqueya opens his blanket where miraculously an image of the Altagracia appears glowing with light enough to illuminate the orchard.

This story reminded me so much of the stories I grew up hearing from my grandmother about Juan Diego, of his tilma santa and the Virgencita de Guadalupe or Tonantzin as the Mexica called her. Ms. Alvarez writes that the Taino Indians of the Dominican Republic’s name for their land was Quisqueya which means Mother Earth and that they saw their Madre Tierra in the image of Altagracia the same way we find our Tonantzin in the brown face of our Virgen de Guadalupe.

The illustrations are gorgeous and bright. Beatriz Vidal also illustrated A Library for Juana by Pat Mora as well as several others. Her greens and oranges capture the feeling of the orange orchard and she brings that color into every page bringing the oranges and nature to the forefront even in her illustrations of the interior of the house. You can almost smell and taste the fruit. My favorite illustration in the book is the one where María is crying and her tears look just like the orange seeds in the bowl.

My grandmother would have loved this story. She grew up in the orange orchards of Piru, California and she loved sitting on her patio telling me stories of saints as she pared orange peels into long curls that fell into her apron. She had a special love for the Virgencita in all her many facets and I’m sure she would have found the Altagracia very special.

This story is beautiful and moving. It reminds us to give thanks. It teaches of another face of our powerful and generous Madre Tierra and of how much we rely on her for our sustenance. It seems to me it is also a loving tribute by the author to her native land and shows also her love of nature and the earth. Gracias to Julia Alvarez and gracias to Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia for reminding me to be grateful, for bringing to mind yet another beautiful memory of my much missed and beloved grandmother Lupe.

The Day It Snowed Tortillas

The Day It Snowed Tortillas / El Dia Que Nevaron Tortillas, Folktales told in Spanish and English
Author: Joe Hayes
Illustrator: Antonio Castro Lopez
Publisher: Cinco Puntos Press
ISBN-10: 0938317768
ISBN-13: 978-0938317760

The Day It Snowed Tortillas is a fantastic little collection of stories re-told by Joe Hayes. In the title story, a clever woman saves her husband from a bunch of bandits by making him believe that it snowed tortillas during the night. There are fun stories, scary ones and magical ones. I loved them all, but my favorite story was the one called Little Gold Star. Little Gold Star is a kind of Cinderella story about a kind little girl named Arcia and has two nasty, ill-behaved stepsisters. Arcia is follows the instructions of a hawk and gets a gold star on her forehead as a reward. Her sisters, being the rude girls that they are get a donkey ear and a green horn on their foreheads. The story made me laugh and laugh. Imagine being called oreja de burro! Too funny.

There’s a story of La Llorona in the book too. I love stories about La Llorona or the Weeping Woman and love to see other versions of the story.

Each story in the collection are adaptations of folktales from the New Mexico region. Joe Hayes puts his own unique spin on them and gives them a refreshing new feel. The Day It Snowed Tortillas is a unique and fun must have for any library.

About the Author:
Joe Hayes is one of America's premier storytellers. He is especially recognized for his bilingual telling of stories from the Hispanic culture of northern New Mexico. Joe lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and travels extensively throughout the United States, visiting schools and storytelling festivals.

American Born Chinese

American Born Chinese
Author: Gene Luen Yang
Publisher: First Second
ISBN: 1596431520

Graphic Novelist Gene Yang’s masterful blending of the three stories in this book was intelligent and emotional. There’s the legend of the Monkey King who wants to be revered as a god be worshipped above all others, a Caucasian teenaged boy named Danny who is ashamed of his Chinese cousin who seems to be one big jumbled up mess of painful stereotypes, and the story of Jin, a lonely Chinese-American boy who sits alone at lunch and feels left out and misunderstood. Each story is so skillfully woven into the others and it is completely compelling and absorbing.

Each story in American Born Chinese is filled with humor, life, wit and pathos. It’s very affecting. Jin’s struggles with alienation, race and identity are struggles that everyone goes through, in particular children of other cultures. We all feel the need to fit in and each of us has given up some small bit in order to do so. I think that’s what makes this book so fascinating. It tells the story of a young boy struggling with trying to fit in, fighting who he really is while trying to find out who he really is and ultimately finding self-acceptance.

I loved that the classic Chinese tale of the Monkey King is one of the stories that is woven into the others. It ties legend and myth to real life and it really worked with the other more contemporary plotlines.

The artwork is beautiful as well. Each illustration shows depth, color and emotion. The colors are warm and add dimension to the story.

About the Author:
Gene Yang began drawing comic books in the fifth grade. In 1997, he received the Xeric Grant, a prestigious comics industry grant, for Gordon Yamamoto and the King of the Geeks, his first comics work as an adult. He has since written and drawn a number of titles, including Duncan’s Kingdom (with art by Derek Kirk Kim) and The Rosary Comic Book.

He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife and son.

The Legend of Zoey by Candie Moonshower
Delacorte Press
ISBN-10: 0385732805
ISBN-13: 9780385732802
Ages 8-12
224 pages

The Legend of Zoey is a fascinating and engaging book. Zoey is a normal thirteen year old girl with a few problems. Her parents are separated and fighting, she can't handle her mother's new profession of a midwife and she isn't comfortable being Native American. For her thirteenth birthday her grandmother gives her a journal which she immediately begins to fill.

There's a strange comet in the sky and her family has a bad feeling about it. Zoey refuses to have them accompany her on a class trip to Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee where her Grandma Cope grew up because she is worried that Grandma Cope will tell everyone about being Native American.

During the trip something happens and Zoey is transported back to 1811 just as the New Madrid earthquakes are about to hit. Zoey meets a girl named Prudence and the book is written in the narrative of the two girls journals.

I found the whole story completely absorbing. The New Madrid earthquakes actually happened and created Reelfoot Lake as well as drowning a Chickasaw village. The book really gets into the details of the earthquakes and time period. There's plenty of sensory detail too which really makes it feel real. I loved the two girls voices and they felt very true to their time period. I was so interested, I started doing a little research to find out more about those earthquakes.
Zoey and Prudence are brave, loyal and strong characters that I think readers will love.

I loved the way their stories blended together with the legend of the Chickasaw Chief Kalopin and his curse. The Legend of Zoey is a multi-layered and well woven tale with elements that will make it a oft read favorite.

The Legend of Zoey was inspired by the legends told by the author's great-grandmother, a Creek Indian born and bred in Tennessee about Reelfoot Lake.

This is Candie Moonshower's first novel and it won the Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award which is given by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. I expect the book may win a few more awards along the way. I, for one highly recommend it.

This review is dedicated to my newest granddaughter Zoey Aaliyah, who I hope will grow to be as brave and resourceful as the Zoey in this book. Grammy will be reading this to you mi Chiquitina Princesa preciosa!

La Bloga: THE LEGEND OF THE VOLCANOS

La Bloga: THE LEGEND OF THE VOLCANOS

La Bloga: El Guajito

La Bloga: El Guajito

The Story of Colors - Highly Recommended

This book is a wonderful folktale from the indigenous people of Chiapas, Mexico. The original text is taken from the communiqué dated October 27, 1994 from Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos to the Mexican People. Originally published in Mexico with illustrations by Domitila Domínguez as La Historia de los Colores © 1996 by Colectivo Callejero, Guadalajara.

The amazing thing about this book is the controversy it caused. On March 9, 1999, the National Endowment for the Arts revoked the funding for the book. This was a clear instance of the NEA revoking funding for issues dealing with cultural diversity. Cinco Puntos Press fought to publish and distribute this book. You can read more about Cinco Puntos’ fight for this book by visiting their website:

http://www.cincopuntos.com/storyofcolors.ssd


Told by Subcommandante Marcos, who is the spokesperson for the indigenous army currently at war with the Mexican Government, The Story of Colors is a lovely little folktale written with such virtuosity, that you can imagine sitting at Don Antonio's feet and hear his voice as he tells how colors came to the world. Marcos is known for being a wonderful storyteller and he is at is best in this amazing story of the Colors. The illustrations by Domitilla Dominguez who is indigenous from Oaxaca are beautiful and quite stunning. They perfectly compliment the story and give a fantastic feel to the book. This book is a treasure in many ways. For me, the biggest pleasure of this book is knowing how it was almost kept from us.

Questions & Swords

On the Seventh Anniversary of the Zapatista Uprising Subcommandante Marcos and Comandante David wrote:

Indigenous Brothers and Sisters of Mexico:
In this, the seventh year of the war against oblivion, we repeat who we are.
We are wind, we are. Not the breast that breathes for us.
We are word, we are. Not the lips which speak to us.
We are steps, we are. Not the foot that moves us.
We are heartbeat, we are. Not the foot that moves us.
We are a bridge, we are. Not the lands that form a union.
We are road, we are. Not the point or arrival or departure.
We are place, we are. Not those who occupy that place.
We do not exist, we are. We only are.
Seven times we are. Seven times we are.
We are the reflection, we are.
The hand that just opened the window, we are.
We are the timid knock at the door of tomorrow.

So begins the amazing Questions and Swords: Folktales of the Zapatista Revolution. Once again, Subcomandante Marcos and the incomparable Don Antonio color our minds, hearts and souls with their beautiful folktales. Don Antonio tells of Votan Zapata, a story of water winning over sword and the story of questions with such simple beauty and grace that they pack a powerful punch. The artwork of Domitila Dominguez, the indigenous Oaxacan woman is luminous, primitive and astounding.

With essays by Native American poet Simon Ortiz and the incomparable Elena Poniatowska, Mexico’s grande dame of letters, the book is a revolution that you hold in your hands. It teaches, it entertains, it enlightens. Once again, Cinco Puntos Press and the Colectivo Callejero have worked together to bring these powerful works, our history to the light.

The Woman Who Outshone the Sun

This is one of my most beloved children’s books.

The Woman Who Outshone the Sun/La mujer que brillaba aún más que el sol is such a beautiful and moving story. It is based upon a poem by Alejandro Cruz Martinez, who was a young Zapoteca poet who spent years collecting the oral traditions of his people. The Zapotecas are great storytellers and the tale of Lucia Zenteno comes from that grand tradition. In 1986 he published his version of this story as a poem and was later killed in 1987 while organizing the Zapotecas to regain their lost water rights.

The book is about Lucia Zenteno, a woman who was so beautiful she outshone the sun. All of nature loved Lucia and in this magical story, the fish in the river and the river itself love her so much that she combs them in and out of her glorious long black hair. The people of the village, however are afraid of her because she is different. They whisper about her and are so cruel in their fear of her. The village elders are different. They warn the villagers that Lucia is a woman in touch with nature and they hurt her at their own peril but the villagers don’t care to listen. She is too different, too odd. Finally, Lucia, hurt by their taunts and whispers, leaves the town followed by her beloved pet iguana.

The river and nature mourn her loss and leave with Lucia caught up in her hair. It is only when the village, now desolate and dry that the villagers repent of their cruelty and seek Lucia out.

The book is fabulously illustrated with lush and magical paintings by the acclaimed painter Fernando Olivera who was a close friend of Alejandro Cruz Martinez. Each page is a fantasy of beautiful Zapoteca indigenous dress, nature, animals and of course, the river which is as much an important character as Lucia Zenteno.

The story has a strong moral message for both adults and children and I cannot help but think that to Cruz Martinez, this story was an allegory for the water rights he died defending as the water plays such an important role. His widow gave Children’s Book Press – a wonderful independent publisher that specializes in multi-cultural books that is based in San Francisco the permission to adapt the story and all royalties are paid out to her.

I encourage everyone to purchase this book and to read it to your children or just enjoy it yourself. It is bilingual in English and Spanish and is just such a beautiful and compelling book.

The Queen Jade - Yxta Maya Murray

The Queen Jade is a story of the love between a mother and daughter, Lola and Juana Sanchez. Juana, the mother is an adventurous archeologist, while Lola, her daughter is content to read her books and supervise D&D tournaments in her quiet little bookshop, The Red Lion.

When Juana turns up missing during a hurricane in Guatemala, Lola, along with Eric Gomara, Juana’s colleague and rival begin to search for clues. They discover that Juana has gone off in search of The Queen Jade, a mythical blue jade stone of the ancient Maya said to impart its possessor with incredible power.

Lola and Eric set off to Guatemala in search of Juana, but to find Juana they must unlock the clues to finding the Queen Jade. The book takes the reader on a gorgeous tour of Guatemala and into the mind of the ancient Mayan. This is post-civil war Guatemala and there are still tensions between the soldiers and the people and the author touches this in such a way that it leaves an indelible mark on the reader.

This is a story of love and loss, of friendships broken and repaired, of secrets and lies, of discovery of ones self as well as of a country and a legend. The women in this book are strong, intelligent problem-solvers. They are multi-faceted and complicated, funny, loving and true. The book is riveting and fun. There are puzzles and riddles, poetry and legend. I found this book to be marvelously written and well researched. Yxta Maya Murray has outdone herself.