Mexico

Materials from Mexico

Cinco de Mayo: Celebrating the Traditions of Mexico

Every Cinco de Mayo, Rosa and her family cheer at a parade and enjoy delicious Mexican food. But what exactly is Cinco de Mayo? Although many people think May fifth marks Mexico’s independence, the holiday is actually the anniversary of a decisive battle against foreign occupiers. Today, Cinco de Mayo is celebrated by many. Follow Rosa, a vivacious Mexican-American girl from California, as she learns about he heritage and celebrates the holiday with her family, friends, and community.

Frida: Viva La Vida! Long Live Life!

Frida Kahlo, a native of Mexico, is described here in biographical poems accompanied by her own artwork. Both text and images reveal the anguish and joy of her two marriges to muralist Diego Rivera, her life-long suffering from a crippling bus accident, and her thrist for life, even as she tasted death. Carmen T. Bernier-Grand’s powerful poems and Frida Kahlo’s extraordinary painting capture the intensity and passion that make Frida stand out as an important twentieth century painter.

See the review at WOW Review, Volume 5, Issue 3

Beto and the Bone Dance

A fantastic encounter on the Day of the Dead. Today is Beto’s favorite holiday — the Day of the Dead. First, he and his father craft an altar at home in honor of Beto’s recently departed grandmother, filled with the things she loved in life. Later, it’s off to the cemetery, where at midnight all the dead souls will come to visit the living. It’s a celebratory occasion, but Beto is distraught because he isn’t able to find a perfect gift for Abuela’s altar. The answer to his dilemma is found in a wild dream, in which Beto joins a conga line of dance-mad skeletons. Through her effulgent paintings and rhythmic text, the author conveys all the excitement of this unique Mexican fiesta, as well as a comforting message for children who have lost a loved one.

Uncle Monarch and the Day of the Dead

When the monarch butterflies return to the Mexican countryside where Lupita lives, she knows that it means that Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is near. She and her favorite uncle watch the butterflies as they flutter in the trees. When a butterfly lands on Lupita’s hand, her uncle reminds her that she should never capture or hurt a monarch because they are believed to be the souls of the departed.

Mystery of the Ancient Maya

Explores the advanced civilization and unsolved mysteries of the Maya who reigned for over 2000 years and then disappeared.

Isabel’s House of Butterflies

Outside her home in Michoacan, Mexico, grows eight-year-old Isabel’s greatest treasure: an oyamel tree. Every autumn, a miracle happens because Isabel’s tree is the wintering place for thousands upon thousands of monarch butterflies that migrate from the north. When they flutter down to roost, they transform Isabel’s tree into La casa de las mariposas–The House of Butterflies. But this wonder is in danger of disappearing forever. Isabel’s family is poor, and it has been a cruel, dry year for Papa’s meager crop of corn and beans. Soon, chopping down the tree to sell its wood may be the family’s only hope for survival. What will happen to the butterflies then?

Elena’s Serenade

Who ever heard of a girl glassblower? In Mexico, where the sun is called el sol and the moon is called la luna, a little girl called Elena wants to blow into a long pipe… and make bottles appear, like magic. But girls can’t be glassblowers. Or can they? Join Elena on her fantastic journey to Monterrey — home of the great glassblowers! — in an enchanting story filled with magic realism.

Americas Award For Children’s And Young Adult Literature. Commended.