The Corn Grows Ripe

When his father breaks a leg clearing the bush for their yearly corn plot, a young boy in the Yucatan must take over the job, and then plant and tend the corn. A coming-of-age story with a verb basic introduction to the culture. I did enjoy the tensions hinted at between belief in the old gods and the more recently adopted Christian beliefs.

I read this book with my children, which is a Newbery Honor Book.

The story takes place in a Mayan village in the Yucatan. Dionisio is a young 12-year old boy. His nickname, Tigre, which means jaguar, suits him because he is “spirited and mischievous and curious...and lazy too.”

A tree falls on Tigre’s father, and he is lucky that he suffers only a broken leg. There is no bonesetter in the village, so Tigre must travel 17 kilometers through bush. Tigre brings the bonesetter back to his home, and the medicine man sets the broken bone and puts a splint on the leg but says it will take a long time before he recovers and it will not be until harvest time. This renders him unable to bush, burn, and plant the corn. Tigre realizes that it show more is up to him to perform the laborious work, but his family is skeptical that lazy Tigre is up to the task.

I love to learn about other cultures and beliefs, but this book fell a little flat for me. I thought it was a little boring and dry. I did appreciate that Tigre learns some responsibility, and I think that was this book’s saving grace for me!

MY RATING: 2 stars – Meh, it was just “ok.” My 9 year-old daughter liked it a little more than I did and gave it 3 stars. She thought the book became more interesting towards the end. show less

Tigre’s father is hurt. It is to Tigre that the Mayan family must look to take over the father’s work. Tigre rises to the occasion and successfully helps the family to put in a good corn crop, though a severe drought threatened the family’s crop and their survival. There was no feeling of judgment in this book, no feeling that the people in the story were savages or ignorant. Instead, the story was told from the point of view of a detached observer. The story holds up. Newbery Honor.

When Tigre's father is badly injured in an accident, the family is thrown into turmoil. Who will plant and harvest the corn that they need to survice and to please the Mayan gods? Twelve year old tigre has never done a mans work before. Can he shoulder the burden on his own?, and take his father's place?

Summary: The book is about a Family from Maya Mexico, this family was the decadence of the old Mayan Indian from long ago that lived in Mexico. The main food that they planted was Corn, and they also planted other type of vegetables that were grown during that season. The people believed that the ancient Gods and Goddesses created them from Corn. They also believed in allot of superstitions, that there was a Corn God, Rain God, Forrest God, and Their Mayan God. The story goes on to tell how they live, that almost everything that they eat and cook is made from corn that they had grown. The story focuses on the father and there little boy named Tigre which means Jaguar. Tigre was Twelve years old; the father had two other boys but died show more from a sickness. The father was preparing the Forrest to make an area where he was going to plant his corn and other vegetables called the (Milpa), a small field in Mexico or Central America that is cleared from the forest, cropped for a few seasons, and abandoned for a fresh one to plant there next crop. One day the father went without tigre and a tree that he was cutting down fell on him and broke his leg. Tigres father was not going to be able to finish the milpa, so Tigre decided that he was man enough to do the work, and did everything that his father needed him to do to plant the corn and get it done before the rains came was done by Tigre. At the end of the story the family was proud of Tigre for his hard work and doing all that he did to take care of the family and plant the crop that the family would need to live for that year.
Personal reflection: The book has great pictures that represent the Mayan Culture. The story of a brave young boy age twelve named Tigre that took on the responsibility of taking care of the family, and the preparation and planting of the crop on the Milpa for the survival of the family.
Class Extension:
1. The teacher can ask the students about the story and what were the things that the little boy do to help his father and family.
2. The teacher can bring corn that is still covered by its leaves to show the students how the corn looks like right off of it stock. Then take it apart in front of the students to see what the corn looks like. show less

The part I liked best is when Tigre did the corn sense his father got hurt and when the baby got the little celebration and had to be carried on the hip.

I like Tiger, he reminds me of me