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Del Sol Books provides you with the very best Spanish, English, and Bilingual Children's Books and Music
featuring Alma Flor Ada, F. Isabel Campoy, and Suni Paz, with everything at 20%-Off, Free Shipping, and No Sales Tax

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

Del Sol Books, Get The Complete SetLa 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

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La mujer que brillaba aun mas que el sol - The Woman who Outshone the Sun, Del Sol BooksParenting 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.

Vienna RoseListen 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 :
Amigos del otro lado - Friends from the Other SideAnimal Poems of the IguazuCumpleanos en el barrio - Birthday in the BarrioDel Norte al Sur - From North to South, Del Sol BooksDel ombligo de la luna - From the Bellybutton of the MoonDesplumado - FeatherlessEl canto de las palomas - Calling the DovesEl vecindario de Quinito - Quinitos NeighborhoodEn mi familia - In My FamilyLa mujer que brillaba aun mas que el sol - The Woman who Outshone the SunLa tarjeta de Antonio - Antonios CardLa visita del Sr Azucar - Mr Sugar Came to TownLos meros meros remateros - Grandma and Me at the FleaLos perros magicos de los volcanes - Magic Dogs of the VolcanoesMi diario de aqui hasta alla - My Diary from Here to ThereMi papa Diego y yo - My Papa Diego and MeMi propio cuartito - My Very Own RoomMis colores mi mundo - My Colors My WorldQuinito dia y noche - Quinito Day and NightTomates risuenos - Laughing Tomatoes


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