Surveys the history, geography, economy, and people of Puerto Rico.
Caribbean
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.
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.
La Vieja Letivia Y El Monte De Los Pesares
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.
La Flor de Oro: Un Mito Taino de Puerto Rico (Spanish Edition)
Nina Jaffe’s acclaimed retelling of an Indigenous creation myth about the birth of Puerto Rico, The Golden Flower, in a Spanish edition. The Taínos called their beloved island, Boriquén. This is their story of how Boriquén came to be. In the beginning, there is only a giant mountain above a dry plain without water or plants. A child walking over the flat land below the mountain finds seeds dancing in the wind. When he plants the seeds on the top of the mountain, a forest grows on the crest and in that forest, a large golden flower appears. Soon, the boy and his community reap benefits that they had never before imagined. A joyful creation myth about the evolution of a beautiful island habitat, this picture book is also a celebration of the young boy’s quest, which encourages readers to respect the gifts of the winds and the cycle of nature that bears fruit for the whole community.
Soledad Sigh-Sighs/Soledad Suspiros
Soledad’s friends help her discover the many things that she can do to entertain herself when she is alone in her apartment.
The Bonus Of Redonda
Bonus Hamilton is a dreamer whose greatest wish is to become ruler of Redonda, a deserted island near his own island in the West Indies. Through a catastrophe, Bonus does flee to Redonda, but his arrival is not nearly as regal as he had dreamed it would be.
Call It Courage
Mafatu has been afraid of the sea for as long as he can remember. Though his father is the Great Chief of Hikueru – an island whose seafaring people worship courage – Mafatu feels like an outsider. All his life he has been teased, taunted, and even blamed for storms on the sea.
Then at age fifteen, no longer willing to put up with the ridicule and jibes, Mafatu decides to take his fate into his own hands. With his dog, Uri, as his companion, Mafatu paddles out to sea, ready to face his fears. What he learns on his lonesome adventure will change him forever and make him a hero in the eyes of his people.
My Two Grannies
An appealing story about a mixed-race family learning to accept different traditions and customs. Alvina has two grannies: Grannie Vero from Trinidad and Grannie Rose from England. When Alvina’s parents go on vacation, both grannies arrive to look after Alvina. But the two grannies have two very different ideas about what to eat, what to play, even what stories to tell. The grannies get angrier and angrier with each other, but Alvina devises a plan so that each granny can have her own way — or so she hopes! This sweet, funny story about tolerance and understanding reminds children that no matter how great the differences may seem, there’s always room for common ground.
Please, Malese! A Trickster Tale from Haiti
Without a penny to his name, Malese takes advantage of his neighbors using his tricky ways, until they catch on, after which he manages to pull an even bigger trick on them.