Description
Talking with Mother Earth (Hablando con Madre Tierra) is a bilingual (Spanish and English) picture book that celebrates the Indigenous People of Central America and their appreciation for the land and all creation. The poems in the book are told by the Pipil Nahua Indian author, Jorge Argueta, as a young boy growing up in El Salvador. As a boy he has two names, Tetl (Nahual) and Jorge (Spanish). The spiritual connection to Mother Earth transcends all Indigenous Peoples of the Americas and that thankfulness is clearly expressed in the poems. On each page appears a special poem about the Corn, the Four Direction, the Circle of Life, the Wind, the Water, Language, and being an Indian in Central America. Each poem appears in Spanish and English and the colourful illustrations of Lucia Angela Pérez appear throughout this 32-page book. Although the boy grew up in what we in North America consider poverty, he and his family are rich beyond measure in their cultural understandings, their language, and their Indigenous communities. One poem, Indian, deals with the obvious racism the boy faces each day at school where other Spanish classmates taunt and bully him with racist names and threats. Despite these challenges Tetl finds strength in his culture and relatives. This book is a celebration of the rich heritage of Indigenous People of the Americas.