Rainbow Weaver = Tejedora del arcoíris
Ixchel longs to weave beautiful fabric like her mother and the other women of their Guatemalan mountain home. But there’s not enough thread to spare for practice, so innovative Ixchel turns to alternative materials she finds around her. She learns that grass blades and raw wool can be woven on her homemade back-strap loom, but the finished product isn’t something that will sell in the market. Finally she turns to the empty plastic bags littering the ground of her community. Washed, dried, and cut into strips, they can be woven into fabric that “looked like a beautiful rainbow, almost as pretty as the weavings of her mother, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers before her.” Dual English and Spanish language texts effectively use pattern and repetition to tell this fictionalized story, while an author’s note adds welcome background information about contemporary Mayan weavers who use thread from plastic bags to create products sold through fair trade cooperatives in countries including the United States. ©2016 Cooperative Children's Book Center
Illustrated by Elisa Chavarri
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 4-8
Age Range:
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Art and Artists
Bilingual Books
Guatemalans and Guatemalan Americans
Mayan People
Recycling and Repurposing
Spanish Language
Diversity subjects:
Indigenous
Latine
Publisher:
Lee & Low
Publish Year: 2016
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9780892393749
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Marshall