The Honey Jar
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
In this book, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Maya activist Rigoberta Menchú Tum returns to the world of her childhood.
The Honey Jar brings us the ancient stories her grandparents told her when she was a little girl, and we can imagine her listening to them by the fire at night. These Maya tales include creation myths, a classic story about the magic twins (which can also be found in the Popol Vuh), explanations of how and why certain natural phenomena came to exist, and animal tales. The underworld, the sky, the sun and moon, plants, people, animals, gods and demi-gods are all present in these stories, and through them we come to know more about the elements that shaped the Mayas’ understanding of the world.
Rich and vibrant illustrations by noted Mazatec-Mexican artist Domi perfectly complement these magical Maya tales.
Key Text Features
illustrations
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.3.2
Recount stories, including fables, folktales, and myths from diverse cultures; determine the central message, lesson, or moral and explain how it is conveyed through key details in the text.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Nobel Prize winner and social activist Mench (The Girl from Chimel) here gathers 12 ancient Maya stories she heard as a child (according to the jacket flap) in this sometimes-opaque compilation. These metaphysical tales-especially the Maya creation myths-may seem obscure to younger audiences at first. The initial stories progress sequentially, explaining that when Grandfather Sun and Grandmother Moon were bored, they set creation in motion. They begot "our mother, the Heart of Earth, and our father, the Heart of Heaven," who in turn formed the sea and, from clay, the land and animals. The alternating first- and third-person voice is initially awkward, but once readers distinguish the two and settle into the protracted narrative style (peppered with several Maya words), the latter selections unfold as entertaining pourquoi tales. These selections also impart universal values (respect for elders, hard work, gratitude, etc.), with the lessons stated at the end of the subtly humorous stories (with titles such as "The Man Who Became a Buzzard," "Twins Make Holes in Your Clothes and Send Ants" and "Why the Elders Are the Four Corners of the Earth"). Mexican artist Domi adds a strong native feel with her highly stylized paintings. Seeming almost abstract on occasion, the illustrations, with their flattened perspectives and fiesta-bright palette, play up the folk-art quality (in one, Mother Earth and Father Sky appear nude among the creatures they've created). Her artwork celebrates Maya people and their numinous beliefs. Ages 8-up.
