The Pot That Juan Built

A cumulative rhyme summarizes the life’s work of renowned Mexican potter, Juan Quezada. Additional information describes the process he uses to create his pots after the style of the Casas Grandes people.

La Procesón De Naty (Libros Juveniles) (Spanish Edition)

A colorful, surreal trip to a Mexican fiesta Naty is so excited – this is the first year she gets to be one of the puppet people in the parade celebrating Guelaguetza, a July festival of folk dances in southern Mexico. At first the sights are overwhelming – the feather dancers, the pi-a (pineapple) girls, the fish-men who perform El Pescado, the dance of the fish. Then her father helps her into her mouse costume and sees her off to a safe start in the parade, but in the excitement of the hustle-bustle, Naty drops her clay whistle and becomes lost. Mustering all her courage, she finds her way back to the parade just before nightfall and is soon reunited with her father. This simple story, told in a distinctly childlike voice, is brought to life in Freschet’s exuberantly colorful oil paintings, which feature sights strange and magical and which capture the essence of Mexico.

The Sad Night: The Story Of An Aztec Victory And A Spanish Loss

An account of the establishment of the Aztec empire in Mexico and of the terrible battle between the Aztecs and the Spaniards known as the Sad Night, of La Noche Triste.

“This sensitive treatment of La Noche Triste, or The Sad Night, the last battle the Aztecs won against the Spaniards, is a highly effective melding of graceful, lucid text and stylized art. Designed to resemble Aztec codices, the illustrations appear in double-page strips above the bordered text. Beginning with the Aztec migration to Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City), the history of this people is traced through their final conquest by Cortés’s forces…. This title has the distinction of combining myth with historical fact in a particularly successful manner. An engaging introduction to Mexican history.” —School Library Journal

Madalynn The Monarch Butterfly And Her Quest To Michoacan

Come and journey with Madalynn, a magnificent monarch butterfly, as she migrates to Mexico. Madalynn has a bright, energetic, liberating spirit that keeps her focused on her quest to reach her parents and the rest of the butterfly community in Michoacn. She encounters native species in her travels that entertain and educate

La Diablesse and the Baby

Winner of both the Alcuin Society Design Award and the Storytelling World Honor Award, this is the eerie and colorful tale of the legendary creature–half human, half demon–that roams the Caribbean night, and how a brave Grandma outwits it.

Tiger Soup: An Anansi Story from Jamaica

After tricking Tiger into leaving the soup he has been cooking, Anansi the spider eats the soup himself and manages to put the blame on the monkeys.

The Secret Footprints

The Dominican legend of the ciguapas, creatures who lived in underwater caves and whose feet were on backward so that humans couldn’t follow their footprints, is reinvented by Julia Alvarez. Although the ciguapas fear humans, Guapa, a bold and brave ciguapa, can’t help but be curious–especially about a boy she sees on the nights when she goes on the land to hunt for food. When she gets too close to his family and is discovered, she learns that some humans are kind. Even though she escapes unharmed and promises never to get too close to a human again, Guapa still sneaks over to the boy’s house some evenings, where she finds a warm pastelito in the pocket of his jacket on the clothesline.

The Twins and the Bird of Darkness: A Hero Tale from the Caribbean

When a benevolent king and his daughter, Princess Marie, find their peaceful kingdom threatened by an enormous, evil, seven-headed bird, the brave princess offers herself as the bird’s hostage in order to prevent the entire kingdom from being thrust into eternal darkness. As soon as Soliday, a kindhearted, hardworking, and generous youth hears about the princess’s sacrifice, he vows to kill the Bird of Darkness and save Marie. His identical twin brother — the jealous, lazy, and dishonest Salacotta — accompanies Soliday on the dangerous journey, but doesn’t lift a finger in order to rescue the princess or slay the monstrous bird. And the second Salacotta sees his chance to claim that he was the one who freed the princess, he does just that. Will Soliday be able to convince everyone that he is indeed who he says? Will his brother admit his treachery? Will Soliday ever be able to trust his twin again? This timeless and resonant folktale about the forces of good and evil and the redemptive power of brotherly love is the perfect story for the ages.

Old Letivia And The Mountain Of Sorrows

Shunned by superstitious townspeople who are suspicious of her healing gifts, Old Letivia, a wisewoman who lives on the rainforest island of Borinquen, journeys into the forest with her two friends and encounters dangerous tests of her courage.