Iwariwa the cayman refuses to share the fire that he uses to cook his food, until the animals of the Venezuelan rain forest come up with an ingenious scheme to trick him, in a traditional myth from the Yanomami people of South America.
Latin America
Materials from South America
My Little Polar Bear
A polar bear reassures a cub by describing what a polar bear is and does, and promising to lovingly teach such necessary skills as hunting and walking securely on ice.
The Galapagos Islands
The Galapagos Islands are a natural wonder in every way. They are home to an array of flora and fauna found no other place on earth. Explore the beauty and mystery surronding these islands, as well as their geography, wildlife, history, people, and the importance of the preservation of these isles.
La Calle Es Libre
This urban story of caring and self-reliance takes place in a barrio in Caracas where wilderness, open space, and wild animals are threatened by the unstoppable advancement of urban expansion. This is a true story of a community that united to build a park for their children to play.
Roberto’s Trip to the Top
Breathtaking vistas and bustling scenes await a boy and his uncle when they ride the teleférico to the top of a mountain in Venezuela. Today was the day! Finally it is time for Roberto to take his well-earned trip on the teleférico to the top of El Ávila, the mountain overlooking his village. Since Papá has to work, Tío Antonio will go with his nephew, who makes sure to pack his camera so he can share the sights with Papá. Up, up, up, the cable car goes, over gasp-inducing ravines, to an exciting new world of vendors, animals, and a spectacular view of Caracas below. Featuring lively illustrations and interwoven with Spanish words that are translated in a glossary at the end, here is a warmhearted tale of a little boy’s first big adventure without his parents.
The Secret Legacy
Rigoberta Menchu returns to the world of childhood. The novel’s seven-year-old heroine, Ixkem, is chosen to tend to the prized cornfields once her grandfather has passed away. But Ixkem isn’t sure she can accept this great responsibility. Out in the fields, she discovers a legion of tiny people, no bigger than bananas. They are nahuales — secret animal spirits — and when they take Ixkem into the underworld where they live, she regales them with tales of the surface. What they offer in return helps Ixkem to accept both her grandfather’s wishes for her and the fact that she must soon wish him goodbye. This moving story is rich with emotion and Mayan folklore, perfect to captivate any young reader.
Imagining Isabel: 9
The sequel to Among the Volcanoes portrays the intellectual and political transformation of a young Mayan woman who leaves her Guatemalan village to attend a special program for teachers.
Celebrating the Hero
Camilia Draper, an American teenager still feeling guilt and loss about her mother’s death, travels to her mother’s birthplace in Colombia for a ceremony celebrating her famous grandfather, about whom she will learn some disquieting and revelatory facts.
Chocolate: Riches from the Rainforest
Chocolate milk, chocolate fudge, chocolate frosting on chocolate cake. Children love chocolate, and this book, filled with fun facts, introduces them to the flavor’s exotic story. It begins in the rainforests of South America with the bitter seeds of a strange tree. The Aztecs served their human sacrifices chocolate mixed with blood. Conquistadors sent chocolate home to Spain where, sweetened with sugar, it became the rage among aristocrats. But not until 1847 was the first solid chocolate candy made, and only in the past century has the sacred treasure of ancient kings become the popular treat of millions. Profusely illustrated and meticulously researched, Chocolate accompanies a major exhibition that travels from Chicago’s Field Museum to 10 other sites.
The Forty-Third War
A twelve-year-old boy learns about death and the conflicts that grip his Central American country when he’s pressed into military service and trained as a soldier.