46. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

listened on Libby
320 pgs. (10:40)

2020
Adult Fantasy Horror
Finished 5/22/2024
Goodreads rating: 3.67
My rating: 3
Setting: 1950 Mexico, rural small community a train ride away from Mexico City

My comments: I had no idea when I began this book that it was a fantasy horror story, so when weird things started happening, I was put off a bit.  Arriving in an isolated mansion, High Point, on a mountainside in Mexico in 1950, Noemi has been sent by her father after receiving a really strange, discombobulated letter from her newly married cousin.  Not only is the mansion falling apart to the point that it is moldy, but the family that her cousin has married into is terribly strange and forbidding.   Over-the-top weird and secretive.  Once very rich as silver mine magnates, they now use candles and oil lamps instead of electricity and have all sorts of bizarre rules like not speaking a word to each other while eating a meal.  As more and more rumor and gossip about past deaths and illnesses assail Noemi, you realize that she is getting herself into something dangerous and really bizarre.

Goodreads synopsis:  After receiving a frantic letter from her newly-wed cousin begging for someone to save her from a mysterious doom, Noemí Taboada heads to High Place, a distant house in the Mexican countryside. She’s not sure what she will find—her cousin’s husband, a handsome Englishman, is a stranger, and Noemí knows little about the region.

Noemí is also an unlikely rescuer: She’s a glamorous debutante, and her chic gowns and perfect red lipstick are more suited for cocktail parties than amateur sleuthing. But she’s also tough and smart, with an indomitable will, and she is not afraid: Not of her cousin’s new husband, who is both menacing and alluring; not of his father, the ancient patriarch who seems to be fascinated by Noemí; and not even of the house itself, which begins to invade Noemí’s dreams with visions of blood and doom.

Her only ally in this inhospitable abode is the family’s youngest son. Shy and gentle, he seems to want to help Noemí, but might also be hiding dark knowledge of his family’s past. For there are many secrets behind the walls of High Place. The family’s once colossal wealth and faded mining empire kept them from prying eyes, but as Noemí digs deeper she unearths stories of violence and madness.

And Noemí, mesmerized by the terrifying yet seductive world of High Place, may soon find it impossible to ever leave this enigmatic house behind.

83. American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

Listened to Audio on Libby, borrowed from Bosler
narrated by Yareli Arizmendi
Unabridged audio (16:43)
2020 Flatiron Books
400 pgs.
Adult CRF
Finished 5/23/2020
Goodreads rating: 4.32 - 76,513 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting: Contemporary Acapulco, Mexico, Nogales and north through the desert to Tucson

First line/s:  "One of the very first bullets comes in through the open window above the toilet where Luca is standing."

My comments:  This is an amazing, powerful book.  It tells the story of a mother and her eight-year old son fleeing from certain death after her husband and 14 other family members - including her mother =  were murdered by the cartel in Acapulco.  Their harrowing adventure is unimaginable ... brave, incredibly scary, and sad.  It's hard to believe and hard to imagine how the atrocities described in this book can possibly be happening in our world RIGHT NOW.  Incredible thoughtful, lovely writing.  And the narrator was just perfect, spot on, with a lovely Spanish accent, pronouncing everything not only with the perfect accent but with the right emphasis on letters that are different than English.  Wow, just wow.  Highly recommended must-read for anyone and everyone. 

Goodreads synopsis:  

52. Mayan Star by Howard Allan

read on my iPhone
2018 publication date
293 pgs.
Adult Mystery
Finished 6/9/2019 - took a great deal of time to get through
Goodreads rating:  3.85 - 400 ratings
My rating: 3
Setting: contemporary Yucatan, Mexico

First line/s:  "A jaguar.  Dr. Isabel Reyes was furious.  She'd been pilled away from her clinic with a waiting room full of mothers and their children -- all alive -- to look at the mutilated carcass of the norteamericano archaeologist."

My comments:  Flipping back and forth between points of view, we follow Dublin-born ex-Rabbi Simon Press, Mexican Antiquities Detective Benito Ruffino, and Dr. Isabel Reyes - along with some more minor characters - through a quagmire of deaths and decapitations all revolving around a stolen very ancient Mayan codex.  No one seems to know why there is so much importance tied to this particular antiquity until the very end (Spoiler Alert) when the Vatican becomes involved.  And the outcome is SO sick-religion-Catholic crazy that it nauseates me.  Sadly crazy.  Interesting possibilities.  Great setting, interesting characters, a little draggy, and a lot of anti-Mexican stereotypes that tended to be off-putting....

Goodreads synopsis:  This much is true: In 1562 Diego de Landa burned all the Mayan codices and began a suppression of the Mayan religion that was brutal even by 16th century conquistador standards. What we don’t know is why. 
     Excavations at a recently discovered Mayan site near Valladolid in the Yucatan unearth a codex – the first to be discovered in over 50 years. A mangled body is found among the ruins. It belongs to Father Colvin McNeery, an expert on the Gospel of Matthew, the only Gospel to mention the Star of Bethlehem. The local police say he was killed by a jaguar. 
     Dr. Isabel Reyes, renegade daughter of one of the wealthiest families in Mexico, is called away from her clinic to issue a death certificate. She wonders, when she sees the claw marks, what sort of jaguar is left-handed? 
     Ex-rabbi and scholar Simon Press has just seen another of his controversial lectures on the spread of Christianity end in violence. He’s back at his hotel nursing a scotch when he gets the news that his friend and colleague, Colvin McNeery, is dead in the Yucatan. Press has always been resentful of Christianity’s success; what he finds in McNeery’s translation of the codex will allow him to get even. 
     Detective First Class Benito Rufino of the Antiquities Police is pulled off a sting he’s spent nine months setting up, and ordered to Valladolid. He’s furious until he finds out why: a codex worth $500 million pesos is missing. 
     Leon Cortes - devout Catholic and a direct descendant of the Conquistador - has become drug overlord for all of the Yucatan because he believes his faith requires him to mortify his soul as his Savior mortified his body. Now he’s ordered by the Vatican to find the codex and send it to them. 
     The 1500 year old codex contains an account of a holy man, a savior who is born under a bright star to a virgin, performs miracles, dies a horrible death, and is resurrected. If McNeery’s translation of the codex is correct, then something is radically wrong with the conventional accounts of the European discovery of the Americas. Or - and this is the only other possibility - something is radically wrong with Christianity’s notion of itself. 
     Mayan Star is mystery/thriller with a Borgesian twist. 

MOVIE - We're the Millers

R (1:40)

Wide release 8/7/2013

I saw it on Sunday, 10/27 (at the Kolb Century cheap theater)

RT Critic:  47   Audience:  74  (That's quite a spread!)

Cag: 4 As silly as it was, I liked it a lot 

Directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber

Warner Brothers Pictures

Jason Sudeikis, Jennifer Aniston, Emma Roberts, Will Poulter

My comments:  This movie was a freaking riot.  Many had told me that it was very raunchy, and I guess maybe some would consider it so, but compared to some of the things I've seen (and read) in the last few  years......  I laughed and guffawed and rolled my eyes a few times and thoroughly enjoyed it, losing myself completely for each of the 100 minutes that the movie rolled.  Great fun!  And I never realized what a "doll" Jason Sudeikis is!  It also has a really delicious ending.  Perfect movie for me to watch on a lonely Friday afternoon!

RT Summary:  David Burke (Jason Sudeikis) is a small-time pot dealer whose clientele includes chefs and soccer moms, but no kids-after all, he has his scruples. So what could go wrong? Plenty. Preferring to keep a low profile for obvious reasons, he learns the hard way that no good deed goes unpunished when he tries to help out some local teens and winds up getting jumped by a trio of gutter punks. Stealing his stash and his cash, they leave him in major debt to his supplier, Brad (Ed Helms). In order towipe the slate clean-and maintain a clean bill of health-David must now become a big-time drug smuggler by bringing Brad's latest shipment in from Mexico. Twisting the arms of his neighbors, cynical stripper Rose (Jennifer Aniston) and wannabe customer Kenny (Will Poulter), and the tatted-and-pierced streetwise teen Casey (Emma Roberts), he devises a foolproof plan. One fake wife, two pretend kids and a huge, shiny RV later, the "Millers" are headed south of the border for a Fourth of July weekend that is sure to end with a bang.

MOVIE - Pulling Strings

PG (1:50)

Limited release 10/4/2013

Viewed 10/2013 right after it opened at El Con

RT Critic 55: Audience: 81

Cag: 4 Liked it a lot 

Directed by Pitipol Ybarra

Lionsgate Films

in Spanish (with subtitles) and English

Rotten Tomatoes:  Rachel is an intelligent modern day woman constantly on the move. Primarily focused on her career as a diplomatic consul for the U.S. embassy, she's literally lived her life on the move, globetrotting from city to city. Currently working in Mexico City and set to leave for London, Rachel's world turns upside down on the eve of her own goodbye party when she gets drunk and passes out on the street. Saved by Alejandro, a handsome Mariachi singer and single father, Rachel wakes up in his apartment with no recollection of how she got there. Nor does she remember that she rejected his visa the day before, which he desperately needs for his daughter. Romance unexpectedly blossoms between the two, but either sparks or fists will fly after she finds out his secret.

My comments:  This was just plain fun to watch.  The kind of movie that you're always one step ahead, you know exactly what's going to happen and you totally root for it.  What a blast! (and it didn't hurt that the lead guy was gorgeous.....)

MOVIE - Instructions Not Included

PG-13 (1:40)

Limited Release 8/30/13

Went on opening day (8/30/13) to ElCon

RT Critic: (none yet)  Audience: 98

Cag:  5/Loved it

In Spanish with subtitles

Directed by Eugenio Derbez (who also played the lead!)

Lionsgate Films

Eugenio Derbez

Rotten Tomatoes summary:  Valentin (Eugenio Derbez) is Acapulco's resident playboy-until a former fling leaves a baby on his doorstep and takes off without a trace. Valentin leaves Mexico for Los Angeles to find the baby's mother, but only ends up finding a new home for himself and his newfound daughter, Maggie (Loreto Peralta). An unlikely father figure, Valentin raises Maggie for six years, while also establishing himself as one of Hollywood's top stuntmen to pay the bills, with Maggie acting as his on-set coach. AsValentin raises Maggie, she forces him to grow up too. But their unique and offbeat family is threatened when Maggie's birth mom shows up out of the blue, and Valentin realizes he's in danger of losing his daughter- and his best friend.

My comments:  This movie was absolutely wonderful, from beginning to end.  F-U-N-N-Y.  Eugenio Derbez was fabulous. The little girl, Loreto Peralta, who played Maggie, reminded me, physically, so much of my own niece that it was uncanny.  What a terrific, bilingual actress she is.  This was a really special movie, highly recommended.

POETRY - The Ancestors Are Singing - Tony Johnston

Illustrated by Karen Barbour
2003, Farrar Straus Giroux
Goodreads rating 3.25
My rating: 4
64 pages
Illustrations:  pen & ink

Poems of Mexico, past and present, with references to Mayans and Aztecs, so fits in perfectly to my 4th grade studies. Some great examples follow:


Storms in Oaxaca ( pronounciation: Wuh-Hah-Kuh)

The great saguaro shivers
in the cold.
It holds out its thick and prickly arms
to feel slivers of shining
rain.
Tall and alone it stands
and gathers light from strikes of raving
lightning.
When the land is dry, the saguaro remembers
storms.

Rabbit in the Moon

Old and clever one,
how I wish I had been there
on the night that you leaped
into the sky.
How I wish I had seen you spark
your silver trail
like a comet with long ears
across the dark.
Oh, how I wish I had been there ---
and looked up.

Old Palaces

Beneath the jungle canopy of trees,
old palaces fill the silence with old dreams,
alone except when splendid golden gleams
of jaguars come to rest upon their bones ---
or when bats, velvet gods of long ago,
cluster in their crumbling roof combs.
The ancient trees stand, green as quetzal plumes.
The fearsome kings are gone.  Stones speak to stones.

Museum of Anthropology
(for Pedro Ramirez Vazquez)

In the silence of the splendid galleries
Ethecatl, god of wind,
stands forever entwined
with a slender snake.
Alongside a mute clay
flute,
a wooden Aztec drum
rests, stilled
as if it had never
beat.
Mezcala figurines 
carved in green stone
sit gazing at old starts beyond 
the ceiling.

In the courtyard 
beneath a stone pillar
streaming
with musical water,
the Ancestors are
singing.

Migrant – Maxine Trottier

Illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault

2011, Groundwood Books

32 pages

Rating:  4

Endpapers:  Flying Goose quilt, red/pink background

Title Page:  White with flying goose triangles flying…

Illustrations:  simple, watercolors or watercolor pencils?

Setting:  Contemporary America, places where migrant farm workers live and shop.

1^st sentence/s:  “There are times when Anna feels like a bird.  It is the birds, after all, that fly north in the spring and south every fall, chasing the sun, following the warmth.”

OSS:  Anna and her large German-speaking Mennonite family live in Mexico, but travel north each year when it is time to labor on the farms.

The story uses a lot of “snazzy” figurative language…perhaps even a tiny, tiny bit too much.  Filled with metaphor, similes, and lovely descriptions, the story definitely does appeal to the senses and the imagination.

I will definitely use this book in my classroom when teaching figurative language, especially similes and metaphors.

“At night Anna is a kitten sharing a bed with her sisters, all of them under one blanket when the nights are cool.  A kitten is a good thing to be, a safe thing, curled there with your sisters by your side.”

When you look at the illustrations, you know that the characters are not Hispanic.  After the halfway point, you see the family lined up to go into a store, and you see the kerchiefs covering the female heads, the overalls, simple shirts, and hats covering the males heads. Then she mentions them speaking German, “….the good plain German rolling off their tongues as sweetly as sugar.”  But it’s not until the two-page afterward that you learn the particulars about the Mennonite workers that moved to Mexico in the 1920’s to become migrant workers, keeping their Canadian citizenship. 

Really interesting!  A great book to share when teaching about Mexico.  This was all totally new to me!

About the author:  a writer from Newfoundland, she wrote this story after meeting Mennonites from Mexico when she was visiting in Ontario.

35. Getaway - Lisa Brackmann

2012, Soho Press
Adult Mystery
312 pgs.
Rating:  3.5/ Liked it quite a bit

Setting:  Contemporary Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
1st Line/s:  "Michelle dropped the sarong she'd strted to tie around her wist onto her lounge chair.  Nobody cared what her thighs looked like."
OSS: Michelle's getaway to Puerta Vallarta to flee LA and a mess her deceased husband left her. becomes scary when she is robbed, arrested, mugged, and gets confronted by really unscrupulous characters.

She's alone, scared, has no one to talk to or trust, makes a few friends but is uncertain about all of them.  She drinks a lot, makes a few questionable decisions, but it's a good mystery in a great setting.  It's fun when you know the setting, and I could picture it quite well even though my faulty memory had to go back about 15 years to remember the city.

Mr. Mendoza's Paintbrush - Luis Alberto Urrea

Artwork by Christopher Cardinale
for: YA - Library says "TEEN" I'd say for older YA & adults
Graphic Novel
Cinco Puntos Press, El Paso, 2010
Paperback $17.95
Rating: 4.5

"When I remember my village, I remember the color green.
A green that is rich, perhaps too rich, and almost bubbling with humidity and the smell of mangoes."

Mr. Mendoza was the unwanted graffiti king of all Mexico.  His platform was social justice.  In beautiful handwriting he would comment on the sins of the world.  And when it came to leaving this world, he had his own way for that, too...

This was a really cool story, told by a young man whose hormones are zapping and illustrated in what looks like black scratchboard.  It is funny, bawdy, and takes us into rural Mexican village life, based on Rasario, Sinaloa, Mexico.  It's a quick read, and I highly recommend it.  I love the author's voice!

Ghost Wings - Barbara M. Joosse

Illustrated by Giselle Potter
Chronicle Books, 2001
$15.95
32 pages
Rating: 4.5*
Endpapers: pale yellow with 1 " to 3" monarch butterflies

Written in the first person by a young girl, she tells of her grandmother, who is also her best friend, the tortillas they make together, the Magic Circle they visit (where millions of monarch butterflies arrive and gather every fall), her grandmother's death, and the Day of the Dead celebration that helps keep her grandmother's memory alive.

Illustrations cover the whole page and accentuate the text without overwhelming. They would be what one of my students describe as "cartoonish." *And although I really like them, that is why I didn't give the book a 5 rating. I guess I would have preferred - for this book - more realism. The story is appears deceivingly simple, but is actually quite complex and multi-layered.

Four pages of "afterword" give more information on monarchs, Day of the Dead, and questions about the book along with activities related to the book. I love the idea ofd decorating frames to hold pictures of loved ones. I'm off to JoAnnes and Michaels!

Gathering the Sun - Alma Flor Ada

Poetry
An Alphabet in Spanish and English
English translation by Rosa Zubizarreta
Illustrated by Simon Silva
Lothrop Lee & Shepard, 1997
(4.1/590L/K-2)
40 pgs.
Endpapers: Bright Orange

26 "small" poems describing the life of a Mexican farm worker. The illustrations are just fabulous - edge to edge - with the word in bordered boxes. The book flap calls them "sun drenched". They are! The dark cover doesn't suit OR give enough credit to the illustrations inside. Spanish first, then English.

Orgullo = Pride
Proud of my family
proud of my language
. . . . culture
. . . . people
. . .being who I am

Tomates = Tomatoes
Fresh tomato
in a salad,
in the salsa,
in enchiladas
Red tomato
in the kitchen,
in the little tacos
my godmother loves to make.

A Gift for Abuelita - Nancy Luenn

Celebrating the Day of the Dead
(Un regalo para Abuelita En celebracion del Dia de los Muertos)
Illustrated by Robert Chapman
Rising Moon, 1998
32 Pages
Rating: 4/5 Illustrations
Endpapers: The cemetery, close up

Oh, the illustrations in this book! So different! I tried to guess how they were made before finding out. Thoughtfully - and thankfully - Mr. Chapman gave an excellent description of his process: CAST PAPER. He creates a mold using a wooden frame where he forms the picture in many layers using wood, cardboards, and heavy papers. He then creates the page by applying a thin layer of wet paper pulp. When dry and uncast, he paints and adds thread, twine, beads, etc. I would LOVE to see (and touch...) the actual work!

The story, told in English and Spanish, is the personal story of a young girl whose beloved abuelita (grandmother) has recently died. We hear of the offerings (ofrenda) that her family is making for previously deceased loved ones for the Day of the Dead. We're with them when they clean the graves and picnic at the cemetery. And we share Rosita's joy when she finally feels her abuelita's presence.

67. The Corn Grows Ripe - Dorothy Rhoads

Newbery Honor Book
Illustrated by Jean Charlot
1956
90 pgs.
For: Middle Grades
Rating: Much better than I ever expected

Dionisio, called Tigre (meaning Jaguar) lives in a primitive village in current-day Yucatan. At 12 he is lazy and somewhat spoiled, but takes over his family's milpa (cornfield) when his father is badly injured. This corn is the family's sustenance. Yes, they have a few chickens, but it is the corn that feeds them. We get to observe the full cycle, from cutting and preparing the milpa, to the wait for rain, the sowing, the wait for rain again, and the harvest. During that time we get a glimpse into the life of modern-day Maya that is still tied to those of the ancient Maya.

Full of description, Maya and Spanish words (and a wonderful glossary), stories of gods and ceremonies and a way of life, this book was appreciated by almost all of my 27 fourth-graders. They are creating a map of the setting that has them VERY excited. A codex of 27 of the Maya words and terms will follow. This was a great novel for our Maya unit.

The Bravest Flute - Ann Grifalconi

A Story of Courage in the Mayan Tradition
Little, Brown & Co., 1994 (out-of-print)
Rating: 3
Endpapers: aqua

(Includes a 3-paragraph author's note with information about the Maya.)

A poor, fatherless Maya boy is to lead the New Year's parade from the village to the cathedral. He will play his simple bamboo flute while carrying a huge drum on his back - on which a drummer will pound - for the entire procession. It gets harder and harder, but he is greeted at the cathedral with pine arches, soft leaves underfoot, and a very special gift.

It's written so that it reads as prose but looks like long lines of free verse. This seems to ba an early sample of the many vers-stories of the past decade. Illustrations softly cover the entire page, with the text in a lighter space near the bottom. It looks like pastels and watercolor washes.

Read this aloud accompanied by simple flute music. Have TWO voices read it aloud - one for the italics, one for the story. Amy and I did this in the classroom and it was actually quite lovely. We had the students just listen to the story and envision the setting and characters - without showing the illustrations as we went along. We had them draw their own visions, then we shared the story with the original illustrations.

Secrets in Stone - Laurie Coulter

All About Maya Hieroglyphs
Illustrations by Sarah Jane English
2001, Little Brown, out-of-print
will be reissued by Black Walnut/Madison Press
March, 2010 in paper at $8.95
48 pgs.
Rating: 4
for: school-age kids
Endpapers: front: glossy crimson, back: "Glyphmaster" (see below)

This is a nonfiction account of how Maya hieroglyphs were finally deciphered - and it lookes like it wasn't until 1973 that the best breakthrough came! Fascinating information about ancient Maya culture is intersperced with the account of centuries of history of the "codebreakers" of the Maya hieroglyphs.

If you think you're going to walk away with an understanding of this intensely complicated writing, you're probably wrong. But fascinated you will be! I can't imagine learning to read these. Wow. But if you have a love of history, of the past, of archeology, or mysterious cultures still being "discovered", this will be a fascinating read.

The "Glyphmaster" at the back of the book is a series of embossed glyphs that can be lightly rubbed with pencil and paper to create names, etc. They're great for copying freehand with so many possiblilities for fun projects! Enjoy

Julio's Magic - Arthur Dorros

Illustrated by Ann Grifalconi
2005
Rating: 3.5

Julio lives in a village of woodcarvers, but his own family are farmers. His friend Iluminado lives in the hills and has taught Julio to carve and paint. He has also taught him how to find the perfect wood for carving from the copal tree.

Iluminato has never entered the annual carving contest, and although his carving is slower and his eyesight failing, his carvings are still superior. So, this very first time that he enters, he wins. Julio helps with the painting and starts his own menagerie of carvings to enter nest year.

The artwork is collaged and painted with cut out people and objects on a paintd background. Some look photo quality, perhaps altered? Interesting. Subtle.

Arthur Dorris has a website which includes more information behind the story.

FRIDA KAHLO

I've been reading a lot of kid's books about Frida Kahlo this past week, preparing to begin this year's teaching with some overall history of MEXICO before I jump into Maya History. What a fascinating woman!

Frida Kahlo was born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon on July 6, 1907, just before the Mexican Revolution, in Coyoacan, Mexico. There was much tragedy and anguish in her life, but it sure looks like she tried to live every minute to the fullest.

Here are some excellent BIOGRAPHICAL WORKS . They all include some of her paintings, and many include photos.

Frida by Carmen T. Bernier-Grand
2007
64 pgs.

This is the book that got me started, then fascinated. You can read my review here.






Frida Kahlo: Painting Her Lifeby Lila & Rick Guzman
Enslow Publishing - Famous Latinos series
2006
32 pgs.

This is a biography that would make a good read aloud -- the text is linear, with not a lot of boxes and sidebars (other than the paintings and photos and their captions)--yet simple, sttraightforward, full of information but interesting, quick. Broken into five chapters (one/day?):
1 - Frida's Childhood
2 - Learning to Paint
3 - Frida and Diego
4 - Frida's Art
5 - Becoming Famous

The book ends with a timeline and resource list.

Frido Kahlo
by Adam G. Klein
ABDO Publishing Co. Checkerboard Library "Great Artists"
2007
32 pages
Easy Reader

Includes 10 paintings, 7 photos, glossary, punctuation key, as well as a simple timeline of her life.

Each two-page spread has an easy amount of text, painting or photo, and a "Chapter" title that's surrounded by colorful swatches of dripping color.

I would certainly encourage a 3rd or 4th grader to read this book. Very appropriate.

Frida KahloArtists in Their Time Series
Jill A. Laidlaw
Franklin Watts, 2003
48 pgs.

Each two-page spread has a title ("Who Was Frida Kahlo? Childhood Years. Declining Health. What is Communism?), numerous photos and paintings with captions, boxes with interesting information, and a timeline across the bottom of each beginning page.

This is a particularly interesting, informative book to read. I'd use it with grades 4 and 5.

Amelia to ZoraTwenty-Six Women Who Changed the World
2005
An ABC collection of simple biographies and quotes.

Frida Kahlo represents "F".
My review.


Me, FridaAmy Novesky/David Diaz
Abrams Books for Young Readers, 2010
Young Frida has just married Diego Rivera and spends a year in San Francisco. Not my favorite of Frida, but details this time she spent in Calfornia, the first time away from Mexico.
My review.
More Coming....

Mexico & Central America - Mary C. Turck

A Fiesta of Cultures, Crafts, and Activities for Ages 8-12
Chicago Review Press
$14.95
148 p.
Published 2004
A must have if teaching Mexico or Central America - you could base your entire unit on this book

40+ Projects
3 Short dramatic plays
Maps and loads of information about past and present, culture, history, politics
Don't be decieved by the format, this looks like a craft and activity book. Yes, it's full of both, but it's also chock full of information and history written in a clear, informative, INTERESTING way!

Chapter titles:
1. Ancient Roots (particularly Maya and Aztec)
2. Country by Country (informative map and information about each):
....Mexico
....Belize
....Costa Rica
....El Salvador
....Guatamela
....Honduras
....Nicaragua
....Panama
3. Life Above the Clouds (Contemporary lifestyle)
4. On the Atlantic Coast (African and Indian influences)
5. Going to school (looks at schools in Honduras, Mexico, and Guatemala)
6. Art and Poetry
7. Daily Grind: Corn and Coffee (Food, Agriculture)
8. Celebrating Life (family celebrations)
9. Religious and Patriotic Holidays

SPANISH lessons and vocabulary throughout (at least once per chapter)
Much information about Hurrican Mitch (Oct. 1998)
Quincenareas
Border crossings and immigration
Large resource list

Some activites I plan to do in the first month of school:
Creating an Aztec calendar
Creating a hieroglyphic name for yourself
Map-making
Soap carving
Music makers: Drums/maracas/guiros/claves
Making a mola
Yarn Painting
Murals - and Diego Rivera
Poetry writing
Tree of Life (I've seen some beautiful ones, this gives ideas for making one...)
Papel picado (cutting paper)
Making a pinata
Luminarias !Ojo de Dios (God's eyes)

Ancient Maya Civilization

NONFICTION NONFICTION NONFICTION NONFICTION NONFICTION

The Ancient Maya
by Lila Perl
Franklin Watts/Scholastic, 2005
Gr. 5+
PCPL 972.81016 P42a
Full of photos
This is the book that gave me the most historical data in the easiest form to digest and enjoy. Beginning my Maya unit each year with a reread of this book will refresh (and interest) me perfectly. Recommended.

The Maya: Activities and Crafts from a Mysterious Land
by Arlette N. Braman, 2003
Gr. 3-8
118 pages
John Wiley & Sons
PCPL Library, read 0709
972.81016 B7318m

This book is both full of information and loaded with activites and projects. Chapters and projects include:
Daily life: at work, at home, and at play (There's a great board game, Bul!, and an animal whistle that looks pretty complicated
Society: farmers, warriors, and kings (planting an aluminum pan herb field, making a jaguar shield and macaw headdress
Food: sacred food, fire food, and food of the gods (with recipes for corn cakes, chicken chili, and a chocolate drink
Art and Architecture: weaving, mask making, pottery, and building a temple/pyramid
Science, Math, and Writing: with math activities, personal glyph rubbing, making a code book, and a glyph amulet

A good glosssary and index are also included.

See the projects one girl created using this book

Mexico & Central America
A Fiesta of Cultures, Crafts, and Acctivities for Ages 8-12
by Mary C. Turck
See the separate review I wrote for this great activity/information book.


Your Travel Guide to Ancient Mayan Civilization
by Nancy Day, 2001
Gr. 4-8
96 pages
Runestone Press, Minneapolis
PCPL Library, read 0709
972.81016 D3329y
Excellent source.

Lots of information, presented as if you were to be a traveler to the civilization during the period of 600-800 AD. It doesn't mince the sacrificial aspects of the culture, and includes some facts kids would consider gross---and love----like cures for sickness: "If all else fails, have him remove one sandal, urinate in it and drink the urine." There's trivia that kids (and adults) would love, explanations of jewelry, tatooing, clothing (or lack thereof), their writing system, still existing pyramids and how they were used, games.... I read almost every word, and I am definitely a nonfiction skimmer, not reader.

Illustrations: Photographs of Mayan antiquities, including pyramids, carving, and reddish-orange paintings.

Mystery of The Maya
Peter Lourie, 2001
Gr. 4-7
48 pgs.
Boyds Mills Press
PCPL Library
972.75016 L934m

Peter Lourie accompanies American archeologist Ed Barnhart who is uncovering the ancient Maya city of Palenque, located in the Mexican state of Chiapas on the border of Guatemala. Filled with photographs of the site, flora, fauna, and contemporary Mayas who are helping with the excavation, his first person narrative is interesting, reading like a story. Here's a nonfiction to read from beginning to end, without skimming. Very interesting and informative.

FICTION FICTION FICTION FICTION FICTION FICTION FICTION

Jake Ransom and the Skull King's Shadow
by James Rollins
Gr. 5-8
402 pages
Fantasy/Adventure

See my review from July 2009.

Opening lines:"The man fled down the steep slope of the jungle mountain. His boots slipped in the muck of wet leaves and slick mud. Clinging branches and snagging thorns sought to catch him, but he ripped straight through them."

The Corn Grows Ripe
by Dorothy Rhoads, 1956
Gr. 4-7
90 pgs.
Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Dionisio, called Tigre (Jaguar), takes over the preparing, sowing, and harvesting of his family MILPA (cornfield) when his father gets hurt. This worked really well in my fourth-grade classroom. The setting is richly described and we get a close look at the culture of a primitive contemporary Maya village that still has ties to the "old ways" of the ancient Maya.

The Most Beautiful Place in the World
by Ann Cameron, 1988
Gr. 2-4
46 pages
Contemporary realistic fiction

A look at life in modern-day Guatemala. See my review from April 2009.

Beginning lines: "My name is Juan. I live in Guatemala, in the mountains. My town, San Pablo, has three huge volcanoes near it, and high cliffs all around it, and steep, bright green fields of corn and garlic and onions growing in the hills, and red coffee berries growing in the shade of the big trees in valleys."

The Bravest Flute
by Ann Grifalconi
The Story of Courage in the Mayan Tradition
Published 1994
Little Brown & Co.
My review can be found here.

I haven't found too many picture books out there (as yet) that are primarily about the Maya. This one is about a contemporary Maya village and gives some insight into the current traditions of the Maya.

FOLKTALES FOLKTALES FOLKTALES FOLKTALES FOLKTALES

How the Peacock Got its Feathers
Based on a Mayan Folktale
by Sandy Sepehri
Illustrated by Brian Demeter
Published Sept. 2006
Rourke Pub. (Vero Beach, FL)
32 pgs.
$28.50 ! ! ! (Library Bound? Small Press?)
PCPL has ONE COPY of it

Peahen has a beautiful voice, but wants the beauty of Chaac's (the rain god) feathers. So she steals them, and is punished by having to live with them permanently - and now only squacks instead of singing. Five highlighted vocabulary words and pronounciation of Mayan words in the glossary.

Illustrations are big, colorful, bold - not too detailed, but they appeal to my love of a "stained glass" look in art.