Jade and Iron: Latin American Tales from Two Cultures [Hardcover]

Patricia Aldana (Editor), Luis Garay (Illustrator), Hugh Hazelton (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 13, 1996 | Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up

Originally collected and published in a series of books by a group of Latin-American publishers, these fourteen tales represent the aboriginal and the colonial European storytelling traditions and their influences in Latin America.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Subtitled, "Latin American Tales from Two Cultures" this anthology is guaranteed to captivate young minds. Part One contains mythic tales from the native inhabitants explaining how the world came to be. There are warriors and princesses who turn into towering volcanoes, an opossum who steals fire for mankind, and a giant worm who drinks a river so people can find fish. Part Two contains stories from the Europeans who came to the New World and is about people's relationships with each other and with nature. There's a mysterious woman magician who escapes from jail on a flying boat, horses the color of rainbows, and a jungle creature who enchants a young girl. These fascinating stories are beautifully illustrated by Luis Garay. Ages 7 and up.

From Booklist

Gr. 5^-8. In a picture-book format, this collection of 14 stories, some new, others familiar, provides readers with a sampling of traditional legends and folktales from Latin America, an area defined as beginning at the Rio Grande and extending to Tierra del Fuego. A majority of the stories are from Venezuela, Mexico, and Chile; half come from native people, and the remainder from later settlers and their descendants. Subjects of the stories range from haunted ships and witches to romance and humorous trickery. Full-page color illustrations by Luis Garay depict strong, dignified characters, but the pictures do not always seem consistent with the text: in a Chilean Indian legend, for example, people who have not yet discovered fire are pictured wearing sophisticated headgear and clothing. Sources are briefly cited and often refer to oral informants, but because the tales are so rich in detail and so culturally or regionally distinctive, more specific notes would have been welcomed. Karen Morgan

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Groundwood Books; 1st Canadian Edition edition (August 13, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0888992564
• ISBN-13: 978-0888992567
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,201,680 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)