La mujer que brillaba aún más que el sol / The Woman Who Outshone the Sun - Softcover

Text: English, Spanish

Kindergarten-Grade 3-- Lucia Zenteno is a mythic character, a woman of great beauty who is perfectly in tune with nature. She is indeed larger than life, and though beloved by the creatures of the countryside, she becomes the target of human hatred and fear and is driven out of her village because she is different. It is only as nature mourns and the river leaves with her that the people realize that theyneed her. This original Hispanic folktale is skillfully told, and is solid and colorfully steeped with imagery of the earth and sky. Both the Spanish and English read gracefully, and the poetic use of language suits the story well for telling. The illustrations have a sense of volume that is reminiscent of Orozco, and the bright colors communicate equally well the heat of the drying land and the coolness of the returning river. An excellent discussion starter, dealing as it does with issues of the differences between people and respect for nature, the book has a natural place in multicultural and environmental units. Pair it with Carmen Lomas Garza's Family Pictures/Cuadros de Familia (Children's Book Pr., 1990) to look at the cultural and artistic aspects or with books such as Jean George's One Day in the Tropical Rain Forest (HarperCollins, 1990) to emphasize our responsibility for our earth. --Ann Welton, Thomas Academy, Kent, WA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.