Perez y Martina
Pura Belpré ~ pictures by Carlos Sánchez M.
Frederick Warne & Co., 1932
As we live in a city that is more than half Hispanic and is so close to the border of Mexico, there is a plethora of Spanish language books to be found in San Antonio. My son's elementary school has a Spanish immersion program starting in first grade where entry is earned via a highly-coveted lottery system, one I'm hoping my son wins come springtime. During these crossed-finger, pre-elementary school years, I've saved up a mess of interesting books that, hopefully, someday he'll be able to read to me.
As such, it was penned by the namesake of the prestigious ALA award for excellence in Latino children's literature. Apparently, she was the first Latina librarian at the New York Public Library. I only know it's a Puerto Rican folktale because Amazon tells me so. I don't wanna plagiarize, but there, too, you can find a customer review of the entire plot. It does seem like this was also published in English at some point, so if you're in the know, fill us in. Without giving too much away, I think the roach and the mouse are lovers, and at the end, the mouse gets boiled alive, but I can't say for sure. For now, let's just marvel at these luscious illustrations, why don't we?
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2 comments:
One of my favorite stories as a child! It's one of the stories read in Puerto Rico's elementary schools.
I loved this book as a child! It was kind of sad and tragic, and the illustrations are so evocative! Oh, now I really wish I had a copy!
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