The Sea-Ringed World: Sacred Stories of the Americas

by Maria Garcia Esperon (Author) Amanda Mijangos (Illustrator)

The Sea-Ringed World: Sacred Stories of the Americas
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade
A collection of stories from nations and cultures across our two continents--the Sea-Ringed World, as the Aztecs called it--from the Andes all the way up to Alaska. Fifteen thousand years before Europeans stepped foot in the Americas, people had already spread from tip to tip and coast to coast. Like all humans, these Native Americans sought to understand their place in the universe, the nature of their relationship with the divine, and the origin of the world into which their ancestors had emerged. The answers lay in their sacred stories.
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Hardcover
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Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

"Fifteen thousand years before Europeans stepped foot in the Americas, people had already spread from tip to tip and coast to coast." In the preface to this reverently gathered collection of sacred stories from the Americas, García Esperón (A Tortoise Named Harriet) and Bowles (The Rise of the Halfling King) convey their aim to "bring out the faint ancestral voices echoing at the heart of each" presented tale. Preceded by short poems and full of vivid language ("a land of ruddy sunset splendor and deep green night"), the stories fulfill that intention by evoking the unique cadences and traditions of the Indigenous cultures represented. Spanning "north to south, east to west, and back again," the entries cover a range of locales as well as varied topics and themes, including cosmic tales of creation and destruction (" 'Spider Grandmother, ' Hopi tradition") and the heroic trials of twin brothers visiting the underworld (" 'Xibalba, ' K'iche' (Maya) tradition"). Employing a limited, resonant color palette of blue, black, and white, illustrator Mijangos alternates between decorative headings and full-page depictions to conjure up the world in which each story originates. Visually striking and accessibly written, this book provides readers with a worthy introduction to some enduring Indigenous narratives. Includes a pronunciation guide, culture guide, map, and glossary. Ages 8-up. Agent (for García Esperón and Mijangos): Paulina Delgado, Ediciones el Naranjo. (Feb.)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Maria Garcia Esperon
María García Esperón was born in Mexico City and has won many awards including the Hispanic American Poetry Award for Children. Her novel Dido for Aeneas was selected in 2016 on the IBBY Honour List.

Amanda Mijangos was born in Mexico City and is the founder of the illustration studio Cuarto para las 3. Her work has been recognized with awards several times and in 2017 she was the winner of the VIII Iberoamerica Illustra Catalog.

David Bowles is a Mexican American author and translator from South Texas. Among his multiple award-winning books are Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico, and They Call Me Güero. In 2017, David was inducted into the Texas Institute of Letters.
Classification
Non-fiction
ISBN-13
9781646140152
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Levine Querido
Publication date
February 23, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JNF018040 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | United States - Native American
JNF038050 - Juvenile Nonfiction | People & Places | Caribbean & Latin America
JNF025060 - Juvenile Nonfiction | History | Central & South America
Library of Congress categories
Folklore
Indians of North America
Mythology
Religion
North America
Central America
Indians of South America
Indians of Central America
Indian mythology
America
South America
Batchelder Award
Honor Book 2022
ALSC Notable Children's Book
Selection 2022

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