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Aqui era el paraiso: Poemas seleccionados / Here Was Paradise: Selected Poems
“Deer, rabbits, / quetzals, doves, / lianas, flowers and low trees. / Ponchos of pure goat wool. / Woven in Momostenango. / Dreaming wrapped in them / is as if you were falling asleep / in the woodlands.” (“In the Woodlands”) Humberto Ak’abal was a Mayan K’iche’ Guatemalan poet who died unexpectedly in 2019. Although he was not a writer for children, many of his brief, beautiful poems are accessible to younger readers. This curated selection in Spanish and English is divided into 12 thematic sections that focus on elements of village and daily life, nature, indigenous identity and language, and more. Full-page, mixed-media illustrations reflecting the details of the poet’s themes appear at the introduction to each section. ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by
Amelia Lau Carling
Translated by
Hugh Hazelton.
Translated from the Spanish
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 8-13
Age Range:
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Format:
Poetry
Subjects:
Bilingual Books
Guatemalans and Guatemalan Americans
Mayan People
Nature/Environment
Spanish Language
Translated Books
Diversity subjects:
Indigenous
Latine
Publishers:
Groundwood, House of Anansi
Publish Year: 2021
Pages: 167
ISBN: 9781773064956
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 811 Ak'abal