The Secret Legacy [Hardcover]

Rigoberta Menchu (Author), Dante Liano (Author), Domi (Illustrator), David Unger (Translator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Rigoberta Menchu returns to the world of childhood in this, her third book. The novel’s seven-year-old heroine, Ixkem, is chosen to tend to the prized cornfields once her grandfather has passed away. But Ixkem isn’t sure she can accept this great responsibility. Out in the fields, she discovers a legion of tiny people, no bigger than bananas. They are b’e’n, nahuales — secret animal spirits — and when they take Ixkem into the underworld where they live, she regales them with tales of the surface. What they offer in return helps Ixkem to accept both her grandfather’s wishes for her and the fact that she must soon wish him goodbye. This moving story is rich with emotion and Mayan folklore, perfect to captivate any young reader.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4–8—On her first day watching over her Mayan grandfather's cornfields, young Ixkem is invited by the b'e'n, spirits in the form of small humans, to visit them underground. They feed her generously and she tells them stories that explain Mayan customs and include bits of folklore. Before her return, the nahuales give her a great secret, which she passes on to her 100-year-old grandfather, allowing him to die peacefully. This story frames a somewhat disjointed collection of tales that show how humans are the smartest creatures; how Mayans fall in love, get married, and have children; how they can be both bad and good; and how important it is for people to help each other. Menchú is a Mayan activist who shared a Nobel Peace Prize; Liano a prize-winning Guatemalan author for adults now living in Italy. The Mexican artist Domi has provided bright paintings in a naturalistic, folk-art style. The lyrical translation preserves the storyteller's voice. This companion to The Honey Jar (Groundwood, 2006), by the same team, will be equally useful in multicultural collections.—Kathleen Isaacs, Towson University, MD
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Groundwood Books (October 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0888998961
• ISBN-13: 978-0888998965
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,227,222 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)