Authors :
Alejandro Cruz Martinez, Rosalma Zubizarreta,
Harriet Rohmer, and David Schechter, Illustrator : Fernando Olivera
Preschool - 2nd Grade
La mujer que brillaba aun mas que el sol - The Woman who Outshone the Sun
La mujer que brillaba aun mas que el sol - The Woman who Outshone the Sun, Softcover, Bilingual, Book, Alejandro Cruz Martinez, Rosalma Zubizarreta, Harriet Rohmer, and David Schechter, Fernando Olivera, Preschool - 2nd Grade, 9780892391264, $7.95
$415.76 for the Bilingual Collection Red Books Set , Including 20%-Off, Free Shipping, and No Sales Tax : 17 Hardcover Bilingual Books and 29 Softcover Bilingual Books
Parenting
Magazine Award for "Outstanding Children's Books"
American Library Association Notable Book
Recommended by the Elementary School Library Collection
Parent's Choice Approved Book
When
Lucia Zenteno walks into a mountain village in central Mexico, some villagers
whisper that her long black hair blocks out the sun, and they are afraid. Others
say her brilliant hair outshines the sun. Frightened, they banish Lucia from the
village and watch in amazement as their precious river follows her, for it loves
her and will not leave her. Never had the villagers imagined that their
beautiful river would leave them, no matter what they did—and so the whole
village sets out to find Lucia and beg for her forgiveness.
The legend of Lucia Zenteno is part of the oral history of the Zapotec Indians
of Oaxaca, Mexico—a region of Mexico renowned for its rich cultural history
with roots that go back many centuries before Columbus. Alejandro Cruz Martinez,
the Zapotec poet who wrote down the original version of The Woman Who
Outshone the Sun, later gave up his life in his struggle to help win back
the water rights of the Zapotec people.
Listen to Vienna Rose read The Woman who Outshone the Sun to you. A marvelous example of the magical encounter between a child and books that we wish for all children.
"This original
Hispanic folktale is skillfully told, and is solidly and colorfully steeped with
imagery of earth and sky. Both the Spanish and English read gracefully, and the
poetic use of language suits the story well for telling. 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." —School Library Journal
"An excellent addition to any folklore collection; one of the handsomest
yet of this publisher's fine multicultural books." —Kirkus Reviews
"The story is beautifully told in each language with little impetus, if
any, being lost in the translation." —MultiCultural Review
"Surreal illustrations, calling to mind a stylistic mixture of William
Joyce and Karen Barbour, highlight the richness of the folktale convention and
perfectly capture a sense of place." —Publishers Weekly
"Powerfully illustrated by Fernando Olivera, whose work is reminiscent of
the early 20th century Mexican artist José Clemente Orozco, principle and
integrity flow through this story like the river that Lucia literally wears in
her lovely black hair." —San Francisco Chronicle
"Luminous, dreamlike paintings perfectly complement the text."
—Parenting Magazine
From Publishers
Weekly
More beautiful than the sun, loved by the whole of nature, purveyor of quiet
goodwill, Lucia Zenteno is a part of the story-telling tradition of Mexico's
Zapotec Indians. In this English-Spanish retelling, Lucia's fate at the hands of
unkind strangers is captured in artwork glowing with color and vitality. When
the dazzling girl arrives in a village, it is no surprise that the river falls
in love with her, rising "from its bed . . . to flow through her shining
black hair." The villagers are less welcoming, however, and only on
discovering the loss of their glorious river do they repent of their cruelty
toward the mysterious Lucia. While the plot is somewhat limited and moralistic
(the Golden Rule is heavily applied) and the writing occasionally plodding, much
of the imagery is refreshing--"she combed out the fishes, she combed out
the otters." Surreal illustrations, calling to mind a stylistic mixture of
William Joyce and Karen Barbour, highlight the richness of the folktale
convention and perfectly capture a sense of place. Ages 7-up.
School Library Journal : 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.
Kirkus Reviews : A powerful story from the Zapotec Indians of Oaxaco, Mexico,
about a stranger whose unusual bond with nature stirs the suspicions of the
village where she suddenly appears. The beautiful Lucia has ``thousands of
dancing butterflies and brightly-colored flowers on her skirts''; when she
bathes in the river, its fish mingle with her magnificent hair until she combs
them out again. When the younger people, afraid, drive her away, the river goes
with her, leaving a desert until the people-- prompted by the elders--beg
Lucia's forgiveness. Cruz was a young poet who ``gave up his life in his
struggle to help win back the water rights of the Zapotec people.'' In this
bilingual edition, his version of the story is retold in dignified, well
cadenced prose. Olivera's paintings depict Lucia as heroic in stature, a noble
earth mother; his compositions are strong, his colors rich and bright,
beautifully evoking the stern Mexican landscape. He also includes many
appealing, decorative touches, especially the creatures that escape the
paintings to adorn the facing pages of text. An excellent addition to any
folklore collection; one of the handsomest yet of this publisher's fine
multicultural books. (Folklore/Picture book. 6+)
Bilingual
Collection Red Books :