Talking with Mother Earth/Hablando con madre tierra: Poems/Poemas

I just love learning about other points of view, other cultures. This author is one of the first "Indian" voices from outside North America that I've read in picture-books. I like his bilingual books about traditional Latin American foods, and was glad to find this moving book of poetry.

It's especially valuable for other Pipil Nahua Indian children, I'm sure, but enlightening for all of us. Descended from Aztecs, with the stories of the invasion passed down, and with some of the language preserved, Nanny Wicha (Luisa) gave (Jorge) the name Tetl. And as he spends time in nature remembering what he has been taught, he finds his roots and his wings.

Telt is a Pipil Nahua Indian and spoke the native language of Nahuatl. Nahuatl was the language spoken before the Spaniards arrived in Salvador and forced them to speak Spanish. Telt is often make fun of by his classmates because he's an Indian. He learned to appreciate his own culture from his grandmother who taught him to connect with the spirits of the earth. All the poems are about nature, like the sun, mountains, wind. The author uses metaphors throughout the poems. Each poem has a special characteristics. Personification was used to make them more alive as if they're talking to him.nEach poems are written in two languages, English and Spanish, side by side with each other. I love the vibrant and colorful pictures which go really show more well with the theme of this book. show less

Understanding cultural ideas: The spiritual connection to the earth. Some poems talk about racist encounters over skin color (and "indian" used in a poem as an insult in one of the poems). Use of similes (in poem "Mother Earth Tells me"). Personification (of animal in "El Maiz" poem).