The syncopated prose of Nina Jaffe draws the reader to the island of Puerto Rico, back before the Spaniards arrived. The island was inhabited by the Taínos, and they 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. When a child walks over the flat land below the mountain, he 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, originally published by Simon & Schuster, is also a celebration of the young boy’s quest, which encourages young readers, ages 4-8, to respect the gifts of the winds and the cycle of nature that bears fruit for the whole community.  Jaffe’s adaptation of this traditional folktale common to indigenous peoples of South America and the Caribbean stemmed from her encounter with a Spanish-language text by Carmen Puigdollers, “Como se formó la bella isla de Boriquén,” and research in Puerto Rico.

An enchanting Spanish-language picture book that recreates the indigenous legend of Puerto Rico’s origins

Named a 1998 Pura Belpré Honor Book by the American Library Association

Award-winning author and illustrator

PublishersWeekly.com : Readers will find a land of enchantment in these pages.

School Library Journal : Grade 2-5 -Jaffe invites children to read this Puerto Rican creation myth while imagining that they are sitting in a magical circle on a tropical night. The storyteller, a Taino Indian, tells of a time when the Earth was a waterless desert plain at the base of a tall mountain. A boy, looking for food, finds a seed that he saves in his pouch. He finds more and plants them on top of the mountain. A forest grows, and at the base of one tree a vine produces first a beautiful golden flower, then a pumpkin. The people are frightened by the strange noises coming from it, and they stay away. But one day two men struggle for the fruit until the vine breaks. The pumpkin rolls down the mountain and bursts open, releasing the sea and all the creatures in it. The people rush to the top of the mountain, which becomes their island home. The text is simple and lends itself to a storyteller's performance. The book is large enough to share with a group, and the words flow smoothly across the bottom of the pages without interrupting the illustrations. Sanchez's acrylic-and-gouache art creates a primitive setting with vibrant colors and angular designs. The characters' emotions are easily interpreted and contribute to the mood of the story. A worthy addition to any folktale collection.

Booklist : Ages 5-8. The style is simple, but this popular Taino Indian creation story gets rather complicated. In the beginning, people live on a single mountain. After a boy finds and plants some seeds, a beautiful forest grows on the mountain top. When two men fight over an enormous, noisy calabaza (pumpkin) in the forest, it rolls down the mountain, crashes on a rock, and splits wide open; the ocean with all its creatures spills out. Luckily, the waters stop rising when they reach the forest. Thus, the island of Puerto Rico is born. Glowing colors, stylized figures, and overlays are the hallmarks of the eye-catching art, while the spare, clipped prose makes this a folktale beginning readers can tackle. An illuminating author's note is appended. Julie Corsaro --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Kirkus Reviews : Subtitled ``A Taino Myth From Puerto Rico,'' this is the legend of how water came to the world. Puerto Rico, according to its earliest inhabitants, was once a mountain in the middle of a vast dry plain. A child receives magic seeds that grow into a lush green forest on the mountaintop. In that forest, a vine produces a beautiful golden flower, and from the flower springs a great golden pumpkin. Two men fight over the pumpkin, and in their struggle they drop it. It rolls down the mountainside, bursts open on a rock, and out springs the sea, flooding the plain and making Puerto Rico the island it is today. Jaffe prefaces the story with an introduction to Taino storytelling tradition, then uses an afterword to provide more background information on these first people, including their fate at the hands of Columbus. The story is told in a simple, lyrical style that will quickly involve young listeners in the myth. S nchez's illustrations, done in acrylic and gouache, are alive with swirling color; his human figures, squat and thick, in keeping with the style of pre-Columbian art, have the round-eyed wonder and build of Roy Gerrard's many characters. A welcome addition to the folklore shelves. (Picture book/folklore. 4-8)

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