This Miskito Indian legend set in seventeenth-century Nicaragua illustrates the impact of the first European traders on traditional life.
Primary (ages 6-9)
Material appropriate for primary age groups
Amazon Boy
As a Brazilian boy makes his first trip up the Amazon to the port city of Belém, he learns something about the river’s many treasures.
We’re Sailing to Galapagos
Rhyming text presents facts about the Galapagos Islands and introduces the wildlife, such as giant tortoises, black iguanas, and brightly-colored lava crabs, who live there.
El Libro De Los Cuentos Y Leyendas De América Latina Y España
The collected stories in this beautifully illustrated volume bring Latin American and Spanish folklore to children all over the world. With stories that come from cultures as vast as the Guarani and the Quechua, the Highlands of Peru, the tip of South America, and Spain, this resource will captivate readers as it familiarizes them with these moving traditions. Text copyright 2004 Lectorum Publications, Inc.
Maria and the Stars of Nazca / Maria Y Las Estrellas De Nazca (Bilingual Edition)
Describes how Maria Reiche, a German scientist living in Peru in the 1930s, observed the lines on the Nazca desert and was one of the first to realize that they formed the outlines of animals only visible from the air.
The Sea Serpent’s Daughter: A Brazilian Legend (Legends Of The World)
Relates the traditional Brazilian legend of how the Sea Serpent’s gift of darkness to his daughter brings night to the people of the rain forest.
The Legend Of El Dorado
A retelling of the Chibcha Indian legend about how the treasure of El Dorado came to be.
The Cat And Mouse Who Shared A House,
Once a cat and mouse shared a house and had a pot of butter to last them through the winter. Then the cat tried to get all the food for herself.
Here Comes Our Bride!: An African Wedding Story
The stunning sights and sounds of a Nigerian wedding are vividly brought to life in Ifeoma Onyefulu’s new picture book. The different traditions and customs of this African wedding are explored and explained through the eyes of one young spectator. We see the preparations made by the whole community in anticipation of the traditional African ceremony and second religious ceremony.
My Name Is Blessing
Based on a true story about a young Kenyan boy whose mother left him but had named him Muthini which meant suffering because he was born with no fingers on his left hand and only two on his right. Many times he was made fun of or avoided which hurt him deeply. He lives with his very elderly grandmother, his Nyanya, along with many cousins whose parents had either died or left them. They are extremely poor and there is never enough money or food, but plenty of love. A difficult choice must be made and Muthini is the youngest child and needs to have a better chance in life, so his Nyanya takes him to an orphanage where he is blessed and his name is changed to Baraka which means blessing for he was a blessing just as his grandmother always knew.