From a poem by: Alejandro Cruz Martinez
Illustrations by: Fernando Olivera
Publisher: Children's Book Press 1991.
The Woman Who Outshone the Sun is the retelling of the legend of Lucia Zenteno, a mysterious and beautiful woman who one day shows up in a village and, eventually, greatly impacts the residents in a surprising way. Because Lucia is new and different from the people of the town they criticize her as being strange, and decide to drive her out of the village. But Lucia is so connected with nature that the river and all of the animals associated with it flow into her hair and the river dries up. The people start to panic. They decide to find Lucia and beg for her forgiveness.
This story holds deep meaning in the oral history of the Zapotec Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico. It is written in both English and Spanish. The illustrations reflect the geography, natural habitats, and the styles and architecture of the people of the region where the legend originated. The lesson is explicitly stated - treat others kindly even if they seem different - but it is a great message to be reiterated for students at all grade levels.
This sounds like a fascinating story. It may be an interesting extension or introduction, perhaps, to the Fleischman's novel Seedfolks in which each chapter tells the story of a different immigrant to a large city. The stories begin to overlap when they begin growing a community garden and learn to work together.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this book and it sends a great message to students, while expressing diversity through it's English and Spanish text within one book. I think this would be a great book to bring up a discussion about bullying and forgiveness.
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