Background Research on Costa Rica and Latin America:

Costa Rica Non-Fiction Books:

Coates, Anthony G (ed.). (1997). Central America: A Natural and Cultural History. Yale
University Press: New Haven and London.
Fisher, Frederick. (1999). Festivals of the World: Costa Rica. Gareth Stevens publishing:
Milwaukee.
Miranda, Carolina A. and Penland, Paige R. (2004). Costa Rica. Lonely Planet.
Morrison, Marion. (2007). Costa Rica: Enchantment of the World. Children’s Press: New
York.
Palmer, Steven; Molina, Ivan (eds.). (2004). The Costa Rica Reader: History, Culture, Politics.
Duke university Press: Durham and London.
Robinson, Hannah. (2006). Costa Rica: An EcoTraveller’s Guide. Interlink Books:
Massachusetts.

Library Videos:
WGBH. (1991). “Columbus and the Age of Discovery: In Search of Columbus”. (60 minutes).
Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humanities and Sciences, Inc.
WGBH. (1991). “Columbus and the Age of Discovery: The Sword and the Cross”. (60
minutes). Princeton, NJ: Films for the Humanities and Sciences, Inc.

Text-set Unit Research:

Noteable Books for Global Society Award Winners:

http://www.tcnj.edu/~childlit/proj/nbgs/nbgs-lists/nbgs2000.html
Ada, Alma Flor (Author), Campoy, F. Isabel (Author), Davalos, Felipe (Illustrator), Guevara,
Susan (Illustrator), Torres, Leyla (Illustrator). (2006). Tales Our Abuelitas Told: A
Hispanic Folktale Collection
Alvarez, Julia. (2002). Before We Were Free. (Dominican Republic)
Cameron, Ann. (2003). Colibri. (Guatemala)
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. (1995). An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio (Puerto Rican
Immigrants)
Hobbs, Will. (2006). Crossing the Wire (Mexican Immigrants) – YA FICTION
Joseph, Lynn. (2000). The Color of My Words. (Dominican Republic)
Mikaelsen, Ben. (2004). Tree Girl. Harper Tempest. (Guatemala)
Mikaelsen, Ben. (2002). Red Midnight. (Guatemala)
Nye, Naomi Shihab (Editor). (1995). The Tree Is Older Than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of
Poems & Stories from Mexico
Osa, Nancy. (2003). Cuba 15. (Cuban Immigrants)
Rice, David Talbot. (2001). Crazy Loco. (Mexican Immigrants)

Narratives:
Canales, Viola. (2001). Orange Candy Slices and Other Secret Tales (Mexican coming of age
stories)
Dolbes, Fabian. (1998). Stories of Tatamundo. University of Costa Rica Press.
Saldana, Rene Jr. (2001). The Jumping Tree (Mexican Immigrants)

Selected Books for Text-Set Unit, based upon reading and reviewing:

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez

Colibri by Ann Cameron
Crazy Loco by David Talbot Rice
Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs
Red Midnight by Ben Mikaelsen
Supplemental:
The Color of My Words by Joseph, Lynn.
Tales Our Abuelitas Told: A Hispanic Folktale Collection by by Alma Flor Ada (Author), F.
Isabel Campoy (Author), Felipe Davalos (Illustrator), Susan Guevara (Illustrator), Leyla
Torres (Illustrator)
The Tree Is Older Than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems & Stories from Mexico by
Naomi Shihab Nye (Editor)

Book Reviews:

Before We Were Free by Julia Alvarez

From Publishers Weekly
In her first YA novel, Alvarez (How the Garc¡a Girls Lost Their Accents) proves as gifted at
writing for adolescents as she is for adults. Here she brings her warmth, sensitivity and eye for
detail to a volatile setting the Dominican Republic of her childhood, during the 1960-1961
attempt to overthrow Trujillo's dictatorship. The story opens as 12-year-old narrator Anita
watches her cousins, the Garc¡a girls, abruptly leave for the U.S. with their parents; Anita's own
immediate family are now the only ones occupying the extended family's compound. Alvarez
relays the terrors of the Trujillo regime in a muted but unmistakable tone; for a while, Anita's
parents protect her (and, by extension, readers), both from the ruler's criminal and even
murderous ways and also from knowledge of their involvement in the planned coup d'‚tat. The
perspective remains securely Anita's, and Alvarez's pitch-perfect narration will immerse readers
in Anita's world. Her crush on the American boy next door is at first as important as knowing that
the maid is almost certainly working for the secret police and spying on them; later, as Anita
understands the implications of the adult remarks she overhears, her voice becomes anxious and
the tension mounts. When the revolution fails, Anita's father and uncle are immediately arrested,
and she and her mother go underground, living in secret in their friends' bedroom closet a
sequence the author renders with palpable suspense. Alvarez conveys the hopeful ending with as
much passion as suffuses the tragedies that precede it. A stirring work of art. Ages 12-up.
Personal Review:
This is a work of art. The story is beautiful, it is based historical events, and the plot is thick and
moving. This is a must use. There is much to be discussed and researched. I find nothing that
could be thought of as objectionable.

Colibri by Ann Cameron

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8-Contemporary Guatemala is the setting for this story of 12-year-old Tzunun Chumil
(Mayan for "Hummingbird Star"), called Rosa Garcia by the man who supposedly rescued her
from abandonment at age four. Rosa and "Uncle" Baltasar travel from place to place, begging for
their livelihood as he pretends to be blind. But, despite her dependence on and devotion to him,
Rosa is distressed by the dishonesty of their lifestyle and has memories of loving parents. Told
by a seer, the Day-Keeper Do-a Celestina, that the child will bring him a treasure, Baltasar takes
Rosa to the town of San Sebastian where he and a friend develop a plan to steal a valuable statue
from the town's church. The plot backfires when Rosa's conscience forces her to seek out the
priest and reveal their intentions, and the two men are jailed. Rosa runs back to the kindly Day-
Keeper, who takes her in and gives her the courage to make a new life for herself. When Uncle
escapes, Rosa must confront him and, in a dramatic scene in which he plunges off a cliff, she
learns that she was kidnapped. With the help of the Day-Keeper and a scrap of paper found in his
wallet, Tzunun is reunited with her parents. Cameron layers her compelling story with vivid
descriptions of setting and weaves into the narrative the complexities inherent in the blending of
Mayan and ladino cultures and religious practices. This is reflected in the book's title, which is
the Spanish translation of Tzunun's name. A well-written and engrossing read.
Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY
Personal Review:
This story is excellent. It is deep within Guatemala, it’s exciting, entertaining, horrifying,
seemingly real, and gripping. It’s hard to put down. It details life and culture, and it’s just a
great story of survival and finding one’s place in the world. It’s also an adventure story, she’s
searching for her family and what is written on a secret piece of paper. There’s mystery and
mysticism. Set within a historic time period, and referring to actual events, this work of fiction
lends itself directly to speak about recent Central American history and tragedy. Definitely a
book to keep on the shelf and use. I find nothing within this text that would raise any community
questions.

The Color of My Words by Lynn Joseph

From Publishers Weekly
In finely wrought chapters that at times read more like a collection of related short stories than a
novel, Joseph (Jump Up Time) presents slices from the life of Ana Rosa just as she is about to
turn 13. Through the heroine's poetry and recollections, readers gain a rare intimate view of life
in the Dominican Republic. Ana Rosa dreams of becoming a writer even though no one but the
president writes books; she learns to dance the merengue by listening to the rhythms of her
beloved ocean; and the love of her older brother, Guario, comforts her through many difficulties.
The author's portraits of Ana Rosa and her family are studies in spare language; the chapters
often grow out of one central image such as the gri gri tree where Ana Rosa keeps watch over her
village and gets ideas for her writing, giving the novel the feel of an extended prose poem. The
brevity of the chapters showcases Joseph's gift for metaphoric language (e.g., her description of
Ana Rosa's first crush: "My dark eyes trailed him like a line of hot soot wherever he went").
When the easy rhythms of the girl's island life abruptly change due to two major events, the
author develops these cataclysms so subtly that readers may not feel the impact as fully as other
events, such as the heroine's unrequited love. Still, it's a testimony to the power of Joseph's
writing that the developments readers will empathize with most are those of greatest importance
to her winning heroine. Ages 8-12.
Personal Review:
This is a personal story, a deep story. It is a book that begs the discussion of metaphor and
poetics in prose, which are deep topics. It is also based in a historical time period in a country
most students know nothing about. I believe this would be a good book to use in class for a
group that has good, deep discussions, is slower for other reasons, or one that is willing to
expand and add a couple of the optional texts. Good book, nothing objectionable in the content.

Crazy Loco by David Talbot Rice

From School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up-Two great strengths of these stories are the pitch-perfect sense for the speech and
thought patterns of teens and the vivid depiction of the daily lives of Mexican-Americans in
Texas's Rio Grande Valley. One story focuses on two small-town boys trying to cope when their
older and more sophisticated California cousins come to visit. Another is about the loving
relationship between a girl and her great-aunt, a midwife who retires at age 85 after her grand-
niece is born. Another tells of a teen who resents having to move in with his grandfather after his
parents' divorce and having to adapt to the old man's ways. Rice highlights the details of these
ordinary lives-including Spanish words and phrases as well as Catholic practices-while still
revealing the universal patterns behind the cultural particularities. The strongest stories
here-"Last Mass," "Her Other Son," and "Papa Lalo"-also display a firm control of narrative and
dramatic unity, drawing readers on to emotionally satisfying but not predictable conclusions. In
the weaker stories, the insights and the voice are still sharp, but the narratives are less
compelling. Even so, this is a powerful collection that should enjoy a wide audience. -Coop
Renner, Moreno Elementary School, El Paso, TX
Personal Review:
Rice is an excellent story teller. This collection of short stories is rich in culture, humanity, and
real situations we all have found ourselves in. He doesn’t hold punches, nor hugs. They are
deep with metaphor and imagery. I’d use these stories in a heartbeat. On the downside, they
don’t have a deep connection to any one place. For that reason, they are just about Mexican-
Americans, which is a drawback because you can’t point on a map and say, “here’s where the
story happened”. I didn’t find anything offensive in the book, nor anything that could be even
thought of to be offensive.

Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs

From School Library Journal
Grade 5 Up Ever since his family moved to the tiny village of Los Árboles, Victor has been best
friends with Rico. When Rico tells him that he has enough money to pay for a coyote to help him
cross into El Norte, Victor is unable to decide if he, too, should go along and look for work or try
to feed his family with the pitiful annual corn harvest. The decision is made for him the next day
when he discovers that the corn prices have bottomed out and that there is no point in even
planting this year. Readers suffer with the 15-year-old as he makes his painful decision to leave
his mother and younger siblings and attempts the dangerous border crossing, jumping trains,
fleeing thieves and border officials, and suffering from thirst and hunger. His desperation and
fear are completely believable as he faces near-death situations and must decide whom to trust.
The author deftly weaves information concerning the local geography and customs into the plot.
The story is well paced, sustaining readers' attention throughout. Pair this novel with Ann
Jaramillo's La Línea (Roaring Brook, 2006) for another fictional view of young people crossing
the border between the U.S. and Mexico. Melissa Christy Buron, Epps Island Elementary,
Houston, TX
Personal Review:
I found this to be an action packed thriller that is based in our modern day life. To describe a
personal story of a person crossing the Mexican-American border and place good reasoning and
explanation to a modern “issue” in American politics and culture. It is also a story of family,
values, and survival. This is a good book, and could be read very quickly. I found nothing
objectionable, except that it makes it seem alright for a person to break the immigration laws.

Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa (Dominican Republic)

From School Library Journal
Grade 6-10-Violet Paz, a 10th grader in suburban Chicago, spends the better part of a year
preparing for her quincea-ero, the celebration of her womanhood, that her Cuban grandmother
longs for her to experience. While her attention to the plans and her understanding of what the
event means wax and wane in her consciousness, she turns her family's personal foibles and
social extravagances into fodder for her speech team's Original Comedy competition. She wittily
points up the bizarreness of her father's sartorial choices, her little brother's peskiness, her
mother's quest to open her own restaurant, and the family's devotion to dominoes. She also
struggles to make sense of traditions-including formal gown and waltzing-that are foreign to her
life. Violet's father, born in Cuba and brought to the U.S. as a baby, refuses to discuss his native
culture with his children, and Violet becomes increasingly anxious to learn more about her roots.
Her two best friends are more than simply foils; they provide texture, humor, and tension to the
story. In addition to speech team and family affairs, Violet's year includes a first crush and first
date, each of which resolves pleasantly. Among the many strengths of this book are its likable
and very real protagonist and her introduction to the nexus of politics and family. Too much goes
on in this first novel, but the characters are so charming that while readers are in their company,
the experience is interesting and engaging rather than frustrating. - Francisca Goldsmith,
Berkeley Public Library, CA
Personal Review:
This book is a little older than my students’ level. The situations she finds herself in are just
older, not uncommon, just different than what an 8th grader would experience. Because of this
and my many other options, I think this book shouldn’t be used. It was still a fun book to read.

The Jumping Tree by Rene Jr Saldana

From School Library Journal
Gr 5-9-A lively novel told through vignettes about growing up in Nuevo Pe-itas, TX. American-
born Rey and his loving family maintain close ties with their Mexican relatives, who live "a
stone's throw" away across the border, yet have very different opportunities. Rey's family, though
poor, struggles and survives through their kind and honest efforts, religious beliefs, and hard
work. Just entering adolescence, Rey yearns to be a man like his father, uncles, and older male
cousins. The boys of the barrio play marbles and "king of the mountain," climb trees, and collect
cigarette butts. The title comes from one of the boys' challenges: to jump from the upper
branches of a mammoth mesquite to another without falling. Unfortunately, Rey is the youngest
and his legs are short. Predictably, he falls, and he ends up with a broken wrist. The writing is
engaging and accessible, with Spanish-language phrases and names smoothly integrated
throughout. Loosely tied together, the chapters create a cohesive whole. Rey is an appealing
protagonist who will speak to early adolescents. Salda-a draws extended family together and
binds one boy's growth into manhood with real emotion and believable events. - Gail Richmond,
San Diego Unified Schools, CA
Personal Review:
I think this book would work at the 8th grade level, but I don’t think the interest from the students
would be always grabbed. Sometimes the book has no future. You don’t know what is going to
happen next, but you don’t really care to find out either. It’s a great mix of Spanish and English.
I love the story of a boy’s life, finding himself within his family, friends, culture, country, school,
and everything else. Something about the story reminds me of the movie, Stand By Me. There
are some amazing little tales, but the story as a whole doesn’t move quickly. He does excellent
work of relating barrio life to the lives of any middle school aged student. I find nothing within
this text that would raise any community questions.

An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio by Judith Ortiz Cofer

From Booklist
Gr. 7-12. "Dating is not a concept adults in our barrio really get." The contemporary teenage
voices are candid, funny, weary, and irreverent in these stories about immigrant kids caught
between their Puerto Rican families and the pull and push of the American dream. The young
people hang out on the street in front of the tenement El Building in Paterson, New Jersey, where
the radios are always turned full blast to the Spanish station and the thin walls can't hold the
dramas of the real-life telenovelas. As in her autobiographical adult collection Silent Dancing
(1990), Cofer depicts a diverse neighborhood that's warm, vital, and nurturing, and that can be
hell if you don't fit in. Some of the best stories are about those who try to leave. Each piece
stands alone with its own inner structure, but the stories also gain from each other, and characters
reappear in major and minor roles. The teen narrators sometimes sound too articulate, their
metaphors overexplained, but no neat resolutions are offered, and the metaphor can get it just
right (the people next door "could be either fighting or dancing"). Between the generations, there
is tenderness and anger, sometimes shame. In one story, a teenage girl despises the newcomer
just arrived from the island, but to her widowed mother, the hick (jibaro) represents all she's
homesick for. Raul Colon's glowing cover captures what's best about this collection: the sense of
the individual in the pulsing, crowded street. - Hazel Rochman
Personal Review:
This is a great collection of stories focusing on character and life for a group of teenage kids
living in “el Building” in a Puerto Rican barrio in New Jersey. The stories, like the title all can
stand on their own, but if you view them together, all the characters interact. You get to feel
what life is like for each of them, but together, you can see the similarities and differences in
their lives. It’s a fantastic book. I believe it will be used. The only possible point of contention
would be the story where Kenny goes out partying, and gets so messed up that he ends up in the
hospital. The plus side is that from there on out in the story, he is totally messed up still, and
everyone looks down on him. After that night his life totally changes, which is a perfect
consequence for his actions.

Orange Candy Slices and Other Secret Tales by Viola Canales

Book Description
Early in Canales' collection, the young narrator gives her beloved grandmother the perfect
Christmas present; she gives her the gift of the world. Through her descriptions, we see that
world as she sees it, through the eyes of a child that is slowly moving into adolescence. In this
twilight world, the author offers a shimmering picture of a family confronted with the issues that
divide lives and love.
In this collection of coming of age stories, Canales introduces the reader to the cultural
traditions and activities of a community: homage to the Virgin of Guadalupe, the celebration of
the day of the Three Magi, a carousel of unique saints, and a flock of very special pink plastic
flamingoes. And through it all, with the passage of time the narrator discovers changes within
herself and the community around her.
Canales' robust tales inhabit the mysterious and secret land that lies between the United
States and Mexico, between child and adulthood, reality and imagination, and between life and
death. These haunting stories not only reveal, layer by layer, the fantastic in the ordinary, but,
most importantly, the powerful and healing magic inside all of us. Long after the tales are
finished, the reader will be left with the taste of orange candy slices.
Personal Review:
I found this book fine. It wasn’t excellent. The stories were “OK” with glimmers of brilliance,
and since I have a fine list of books with brilliance, this book drops low on the list. The stories
do have depth of character and culture, but they lack in plot, which is essential for Young Adult
literature. Because of these reasons, and that I’ve read most of the book list, this one falls short.

Red Midnight by Ben Mikaelsen

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-9-When soldiers burn his Guatemalan village and kill his family, 12-year-old Santiago
escapes with his 4-year-old sister, Angelina. Following the instructions of his dying uncle, he
makes his way to Lake Izabal, where he takes his uncle's small sailing canoe and begins a
terrifying journey north and across the Gulf of Mexico to Florida. The siblings face starvation
and dehydration; lack of sleep; strong sun, wind, and waves; and their own fears and sorrows to
win their game of Staying Alive. The present-tense narrative suggests the speech of someone
whose first language is not English, and Santiago's first-person account makes the adventure
even more immediate. The opening scene is memorable, as the burning of the village turns the
night sky red. However, the necessary flashback to explain how a mountain boy learned
rudimentary sailing and the almost unbelievable details of the children's trip between their
village and their uncle's home give readers pause, rather than pulling them into the suspense of
the story. At times, the anger in the author's message almost overwhelms the action. "The rich
have no conscience," their uncle's friend says. The first Americans they encounter call them
"stinking boat people" and tell them to go away from their private beach club. In an afterword,
the author explains that the soldiers who massacred villagers were armed by the U.S. government
as part of our fight against communism. Thus, we share the blame for such atrocities. In spite of
the heavy-handed message, readers who persevere through the first third of the book will be
rewarded with a terrific survival story.
Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Personal Review:
This is an amazing book. It is fast paced, heart felt, and has a strong lead character. He and his
little sister have to flee death and witnessed the death of the their entire family, and to survive,
they must risk death to live. It is action packed, but it really begs the question of what happened
in Guatemala in the 1980’s. It would be a great book for a group of guys, and it also lends itself
well to the creation of models of objects within the book. The opening scenes may be
objectionable, because his entire family is slaughtered. Mikaelsen doesn’t describe the situation
with any gore, but all the horror is intact. I find this book less shocking that most Holocaust
memoirs, which are more graphic in their real violence, so the only real difference would be that
these people are Guatemalans suffering the wrath of genocide.

The Stories of Tata Mundo by Fabian Dobles

Costa Rica for Dummies by Eliot Greenspan
This collection of short stories is based on the character Tata Mundo, a rural peasant, who has
come to embody and represent much of Costa Rica’s national identity, or at least the idealized
version of that identity – simple, kind, open, joyful, and wise.
Personal Review:
I picked up this book in Costa Rica. It was the only translated book that any seller recommended
for teens that was written or about Costa Rica. After reading it, it is really for the high school
level. Each story is told as if it were be told to a mysterious friend of Mundo, who tells it to us
“just as he heard it”. Each is difficult to read because of the translation and the style of wording,
which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The part bringing it down is the themes of alcohol, sex,
racism, and sexism. It is wrought with the culture of the impoverished. The stories are funny
and entertaining, but it would take much explaining and direct instruction for students to
understand these underlying tones, which isn’t the point of this student project. Fun book, glad I
read it, but it shouldn’t be used for this purpose.

Tales Our Abuelitas Told: A Hispanic Folktale Collection by Alma Flor Ada (Author), F.
Isabel Campoy (Author), Felipe Davalos (Illustrator), Susan Guevara (Illustrator), Leyla
Torres (Illustrator)
From School Library Journal
Grade 3 Up–The introduction to this delightful collection explains clearly how stories develop
and change over time; in fact, the two storytellers heard most of these amusing tales when they
were children and have retold them many times since in their own unique styles. Each retelling is
accompanied by a brief description of its origin. Included are tales about dancing goats, a turtle
that outwits a deer, and a beetle that declares war on a cow; all of the selections are peppered
with energetic dialogue and witty detail. Children will relish their humor, especially if read
aloud, and teens will also enjoy this lively presentation. Traditional story beginnings and endings
are provided in Spanish and translated into English, including one foreboding opening: In a land
where you will go but from where you will never return. Four Latino artists provide an
interesting variety of illustration. Featured images include a large goat head in a vegetable
garden, a large farmer on a very small burro, and a wolf and fox all decked out in finery dancing
together. The last page provides information about the authors and illustrators. Many libraries
may already have Lucia M. Gonzalezs Señor Cats Romance (Scholastic, 2001), but only one tale
is common to both collections. Make room on your shelves for this excellent book.–Kirsten
Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA
Personal Review:
Beautiful stories, beautiful illustrations. They are very well written, very enjoyable, plot driven
with morals like most fables. The stories are short, easy to read, and designed for all ages. They
have no material that would be objectionable. I would feel very comfortable using this as extra
material for a fast finishing group or for a low reader’s group.
Tree Girl by Ben Mikaelson
From School Library Journal
Grade 6-10-In her remote Guatemalan village, 14-year-old Gabriela is known as Tree Girl for her
habit of fleeing to the forest and climbing high to escape the world. When guerrilla warfare
comes to her area, her life is changed forever. Soldiers eventually discover the small school she
attends, beat and murder her teacher, and shoot the other students. Tree climbing saves Gabi
from that massacre, and she is away from home when her village is destroyed and nearly all of
her family members are murdered. In the course of her flight north to a Mexican refugee camp,
she again hides in a tree while soldiers rape and murder the inhabitants of another village. After
arriving at the camp, Gabi cares for two elderly women and her one surviving sister and
eventually founds a school. Her concern for others helps her recover from the trauma of her
experiences. This is a graphic portrayal of the worst of civil war, based on one refugee's story.
The author's anger that the U.S. government trained and supported soldiers who committed such
atrocities is clear. Details of Guatemalan life are woven throughout the book, but it lacks the
sensory descriptions that would allow readers to visualize the setting. Still, the action moves
quickly, and Gabi's courage and determination are evident throughout. Readers not put off by the
violence should find this an instructive and satisfying survival story.-Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund
Burke School, Washington, DC
Personal Review:
I feel this is one of the best young adult books I have ever read. It is real. It is powerful. This
book will make you feel. The emotions run deep from fear, oppression, adrenal rushes, horror,
love, true hope, and redemption. It is graphic, but it stays true to history. The problem with this
text is also its power: it’s about genocide in the modern era. The story of people be slain
because of their “race” in our era and so close to home is a tough pill to swallow by many. This
text is no more graphic and no less important than any story from the Holocaust. This is a book
that deserves to be read by many and have an incredible affect. Because of the graphicness, this
isn’t a book that can’t go untamed in a classroom. The issues must be worked through as a
group; it isn’t a light read and it demands close attention by the teacher and the students. With
that said, it also has the power to changes lives.

The Tree Is Older Than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems & Stories from Mexico
by Naomi Shihab Nye (Editor)
From School Library Journal
Grade 4 Up?A most enticing bilingual anthology that unfolds like a tapestry of images,
languages, rhythms, and musicalities from all regions of Mexico. In the poem "Lemon Tree,"
from which the title is derived, Jennifer Clement urges readers to, "Remember,/the tree is older
than you are/and you might find stories/in its branches." Each page holds the promise of a small
jewel, poems that transform ordinary experience into extraordinary insight. There are several
pieces written in Tzotzil, and one in Tzeltal, two of the languages of the Maya. Several
traditional and modern folktales also appear, adding to the cosmogony and strengthening the
roots of the tree. The illustrations, which appear every few pages as illuminations, employ a
variety of styles and mediums, all reproduced in full color. Often magical and sometimes playful,
the artwork completes the experience of being welcomed into a mysteriously friendly world in
which there is much to be discovered and shared. Thorough endnotes on the contributors,
translators, and acknowledgements as well as a list of titles in English and Spanish complete this
remarkable volume that holds something for everyone. Graciela Italiano, Weber State University,
Ogden, UT
Personal Review:
This is a great collection of poetry, supplemented with art, from Mexico. Each poem is beautiful
on its own merit, and within this collection they form a bond of place. I believe this would be
best used as supplementary material. I could present poems to the class, or if a group finishes
early, they can then work on poems. This book is very usable, and I did not find a lick of
questionable material.