Prietita y la llorona - Prietita and the Ghost Woman

Prietita y la llorona - Prietita and the Ghost Woman, Softcover, Bilingual, Book, Gloria Anzaldua, Maya Christina Gonzalez, Preschool - 2nd Grade, 9780892391677, $7.95  Out of Print  :(

1996 Américas Honor Award
1996 Smithsonian Notable Book

Ever since she can remember, Prietita has heard frightening stories about la Llorona—the legendary ghost woman who steals children at night. One day, when Prietita goes in search of the missing herb that can help cure her mother, she becomes lost in the woods. Suddenly she hears a distant crying sound and sees flashes of white in the trees. Could it be the ghost woman from her grandmother's stories?

In her second book for children, Gloria Anzaldúa reinterprets one of the most famous Mexican legends—the story of la Llorona, the ghost woman. Surrounded by the live oak and prickly pear of the Texas woods, Prietita discovers that la Llorona is not what people expect but rather a compassionate woman who helps her on her path. In this magical and enchanting story, Prietita's search for the healing rue plant turns into a powerful journey of self-discovery.

Listen to Vienna Rose read Prietita and the Ghost Woman to you.  A marvelous example of the magical encounter between a child and books that we wish for all children.

School Library Journal
Grade 3-6  In this bilingual (English/Spanish) tale, Prietita seeks a remedy for her mother's illness. Do?a Lola, the curandera or healer, sends her in search of the rue plant, but Prietita gets lost in the woods. She appeals to the various animals (deer, salamander, dove) that she meets for help, but in vain. Then La Llorona appears and guides the girl to the plant and out of the woods. La Llorona, the "Crying Woman," is traditionally a bogey: frightening, unredeemable, she lures children away from their families and disappears with them. Anzaldua's story, though, casts her as a helpful, benign figure. A source note explains the reason for this change. Whether readers can accept this version or not, this tale provides a fascinating context in which to introduce and discuss folktales. The well-written English text includes a number of Spanish terms. Gonzalez's lovely folk paintings, awash in bright colors, authentically portray the people and native plants and animals of this South Texas locale. Prietita was also featured in Anzaldua's Friends from the Other Side/Amigos del Otro Lado

Kirkus Reviews : Anzaldúa (Friends from the Other Side, 1993, etc.) offers a feminist interpretation of the familiar Mexican legend of la Llorona, the sobbing ghost woman who steals children at night. Night has already fallen when Prietita, lost in the Texas woods while seeking the plant that will cure her mother, hears a woman crying. In spite of her grandmother's frightening stories about the ghost woman, Prietita forces herself to go to her, and in the process discovers that ghosts--and probably people, too--aren't always what others think. The ghost woman benevolently guides Prietita to the right plant and then out of the woods. The text appears in both Spanish and English; dramatic illustrations with the bold forms of mural art completely fill each spread, laden with southwestern flora and Mexican motifs. (Picture book. 4-9) 

"A fine story of courage and myth." —Children's Bookwatch

"The lavish paintings of Christina Gonzalez enhance the bilingual English/Spanish text."      —Library Lane

Bilingual Collection Red Books :