Talking with Mother Earth / Hablando con Madre Tierra

This illustrated book for children presents poems which explore a Pipil Nahua Indian boy's connection to Mother Earth and how it heals the wounds of racism.

About the author

JORGE ARGUETA, a Nahua from El Salvador and Poet Laureate Emeritus of San Mateo County, is a prize-winning author of more than twenty children's books. His book Somos como las nubes / We Are Like the Clouds won the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award and was named to USBBY's Outstanding International Books List, ALA Notable Children's Books and the Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices. Jorge is the founder of the International Children's Poetry Festival Manyula and the Library of Dreams, a non-profit organization that promotes literacy in El Salvador. Jorge divides his time between San Francisco, California, and El Salvador.

Summary

An Americas Award Commended Title

Raw, honest and powerful, these moving bilingual poems by noted Salvadoran poet Jorge Argueta explore a young Indigenous boy's connection to Mother Earth and how he is healed from the terrible wounds of racism he has endured. Tetl has learned from his grandmother about the spirituality of his ancestors, about how they viewed the earth as alive with sacred meaning. This helps him move from doubt and fear, created by the taunts of other children, to self-acceptance and a discovery of his love for nature.

Mountains, wind, corn and stones all speak to Tetl, almost seeming to vibrate with life. He feels deep roots in them and, through them, he learns to speak and sing. They reveal his Nahuatl self and he realizes that he is special, beautiful and sacred.These gripping poems have something to teach us all, perhaps especially those who have been either intentionally or casually cruel or racist, as well as those who have been the victims of racism.

Product details

• Authors: Jorge Argueta, Lucía Angela Pérez
• Assisted by: Luca Angela Perez (Illustration), Luca Angela Prez (Illustration)
• Publisher: Ingram Publishers Services
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: from age 5
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 20.02.2025
• EAN: 9781779460196
• ISBN: 978-1-77946-019-6
• No. of pages: 36
• Dimensions: 227 mm x 242 mm x 9 mm
• Weight: 113 g
• Illustrations: Illustrationen, nicht spezifiziert
• Subjects: Children's and young people's books > Non-fiction books / Non-fiction picture books; JUVENILE NONFICTION / Poetry / General, People & places (Children's / Teenage), General fiction (Children's / Teenage), Children’s picture books, Interest age: from c 5 years, Poetry (Children's / Teenage), Children’s / Teenage: Poetry, JUVENILE FICTION / Science & Nature / General, Relating to Latin / Hispanic American people, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Places and peoples, Natural history (Children's/Teenage), JUVENILE FICTION / Hispanic & Latino