Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daughter of the Nahua

by Gloria Amescua, Duncan Tonatiuh (Illustrator)

Overview

Award-winning illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh brings to life debut author Gloria Amescua's lyrical picture book biography of an Indigenous Nahua woman from Mexico who taught and preserved her people's culture through modeling for famous artists.

A 2022 Pura Belpré Award Author Honor Book

She was Luz Jiménez,
child of the flower-song people,
the powerful Aztec,
who called themselves Nahua—
who lost their land but who did not disappear.

As a young Nahua girl in Mexico during the early 1900s, Luz learned how to grind corn in a metate, to twist yarn with her toes, and to weave on a loom. By the fire at night, she listened to stories of her community’s joys, suffering, and survival, and wove them into her heart.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419740206
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	08/17/2021
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	475,665
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	1020L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 10 Years

About the Author

Gloria Amescua is an educator, poet, and children’s book writer. She was awarded Lee & Low’s 2016 New Voices Honor Award for her manuscript about Luz Jiménez and was named a finalist for the Austin Chapter Cynthia Leitich Smith Mentorship Award and We Need Diverse Books’ mentorship program. This is her debut picture book.

Duncan Tonatiuh’s books have won numerous awards: Diego Rivera won the Pura Belpré Illustration Award; Pancho Rabbit won two Pura Belpré Honor awards, for illustration and narrative; Separate Is Never Equal won the prestigious Sibert Honor Award; and Funny Bones won the Sibert Award. He lives in Mexico.

Editorial Reviews

★ 07/12/2021

Luz Jiménez (1897–1965) was a “child of the flower-song people, the powerful Aztecs, who called themselves Nahua—who lost their land, but who did not disappear.” Amescua sensitively excavates the compelling story of the woman known as “the spirit of Mexico” through her appearance in works by artists including Diego Rivera, Jean Charlot, and Tina Mondotti. Jiménez is portrayed as a curious, ambitious person who, from a young age, treasured her heritage and was determined to preserve her threatened culture despite hardship, discrimination, and colonialism. Though her dream of teaching children is thwarted, her work as a model creates opportunities to connect with scholars: “So Luz at last became a teacher, weaving the threads of her flower-song, xochicuicatl—her language and culture—into their hearts.” Tonatiuh’s hand-drawn, digitally collaged images mix motifs from Indigenous Mexican art with modern textures, celebrating the endurance and resilience of treasured traditions in a changing world. Ages 6–10. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

"Child of the Flower-Song People is a gift to young readers, all of whom should know how Luz Jiménez carried on the skills, beauty, and pride of native Mexican people."

author of The People’s Painter Cynthia Levinson

"Amescua enhances her flowing prose with natural imagery (mountains, winds, blossoms), as if Amescua is re-grounding Luz's Nahua identity into the very earth. Tonatiuh's magnificent signature style. . .couldn't be more ideal for animating Amescua's illuminating text. . .This perfectly paired collaboration provides both reclamation and revelation."

Shelf Awareness

"Child of the Flower-Song People deftly balances fascinating biographical moments with an earnest sense of social justice for the indigenous people of Mexico."

author of My Two Border Towns David Bowles

"Tonatiuh’s hand-drawn, digitally collaged illustrations, with an iconographic nod to the Mixtec codices, are rich in color and texture. Indeed, it’s this complicated relationship between old traditions and modern influences that make his art such a good complement to Amescua’s text."

The Horn Book Magazine

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Amescua's spare yet lyrical text reminds readers that Luz was a 'child of the flower-song people, / . . . who lost their land, but who did not disappear.' She also notes the harsh treatment Luz endured at government schools designed to stifle Indigenous culture. Tonatiuh's signature Mixtec-inspired art is a delight... Luz's traditional stories are depicted as outlined carvings in the mountainous landscape and seem to emanate from Luz's mouth somewhat like a speech balloon."

Booklist

"Threaded with cultural insights, poetic language, and stylized art, Jiménez comes to life. . .. A timely and thought-provoking true story.

author of King of the Tightrope Donna Janell Bowman

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Amescua's spare yet lyrical text reminds readers that Luz was a 'child of the flower-song people, / . . . who lost their land, but who did not disappear.' She also notes the harsh treatment Luz endured at government schools designed to stifle Indigenous culture. Tonatiuh's signature Mixtec-inspired art is a delight... Luz's traditional stories are depicted as outlined carvings in the mountainous landscape and seem to emanate from Luz's mouth somewhat like a speech balloon."—Booklist

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Amescua sensitively excavates the compelling story of the woman known as “the spirit of Mexico”. . .Tonatiuh’s hand-drawn, digitally collaged images mix motifs from Indigenous Mexican art with modern textures, celebrating the endurance and resilience of treasured traditions in a changing world." —Publishers Weekly

**STARRED REVIEW**
"Tonatiuh’s beautiful pre-Columbian illustrations provide a vivid play-by-play of events and evoke Jiménez’s ultimate impact on the art world. An author’s note gives more historical context, and a time line, glossary, and bibliography make this a valuable source for student researchers." —School Library Journal

"Threaded with cultural insights, poetic language, and stylized art, Jiménez comes to life. . .. A timely and thought-provoking true story.” —Donna Janell Bowman, author of King of the Tightrope

"Child of the Flower-Song People is a gift to young readers, all of whom should know how Luz Jiménez carried on the skills, beauty, and pride of native Mexican people."—Cynthia Levinson, author of The People’s Painter

"Child of the Flower-Song People deftly balances fascinating biographical moments with an earnest sense of social justice for the indigenous people of Mexico."—David Bowles, author of My Two Border Towns

"Tonatiuh’s hand-drawn, digitally collaged illustrations, with an iconographic nod to the Mixtec codices, are rich in color and texture. Indeed, it’s this complicated relationship between old traditions and modern influences that make his art such a good complement to Amescua’s text." —The Horn Book Magazine

"Amescua enhances her flowing prose with natural imagery (mountains, winds, blossoms), as if Amescua is re-grounding Luz's Nahua identity into the very earth. Tonatiuh's magnificent signature style. . .couldn't be more ideal for animating Amescua's illuminating text. . .This perfectly paired collaboration provides both reclamation and revelation." —Shelf Awareness

"Amescua succeeds in introducing Luz. . .Closely following the text, the illustrations bring Luz to life. An important window into the ravages of colonialism and the plight of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

"Child of the Flower-Song People is a gift to young readers, all of whom should know how Luz Jiménez carried on the skills, beauty, and pride of native Mexican people."

author of The People’s Painter Cynthia Levinson

★ 10/01/2021

Gr 1–5—The moving story of one of the biggest cultural influences on Mexican culture. Luz Jiménez loves learning about her Nahua culture—from traditional weaving and cooking to the beautiful stories told by the fire. And even though it means wearing strange European-style clothes, she also loves going to school. Jiménez is sure there's a way to combine her love of her Nahua culture and her growing passion to teach, until the Mexican revolution changes everything. In the aftermath of war, the subject and her family struggle to find their way in Mexico City, until she finds a solution that could save her family and the story of her people. The straightforward text belies a complicated story about the devastating effects of colonization on an Indigenous culture and the complex ways that Jiménez had an immeasurable impact on contemporary Mexican culture. Tonatiuh's beautiful pre-Columbian illustrations provide a vivid play-by-play of events and evoke Jiménez's ultimate impact on the art world. An author's note gives more historical context, and a time line, glossary, and bibliography make this a valuable source for student researchers. Missing are examples of some of the art Jiménez inspired, but students reading this will be impulsed to find those on their own. VERDICT Essential reading about the impacts of colonialism for public and school libraries.—Savannah Kitchens, Parnell Memorial Lib., Montevallo, AL

School Library Journal

2021-06-16
Luz Jiménez lives with her family in a Mexican village.

They do not speak the language of their Spanish conquerors among themselves. Nahuatl is what they, the descendants of the powerful Aztecs, speak instead. Luz learns how to weave, to make tortillas, and to find medicinal herbs, but she also wants to learn how to read. When the Mexican government decides to “modernize” the Indigenous peoples, Native children are forced to adapt to the European style of dress and to forget their culture and languages. However, Luz does not forget. After her father is killed in a massacre by revolutionary soldiers, her mother flees with her and her sisters to Mexico City, where she comes to the attention of artists, photographers, and anthropologists. Finally, Luz’s culture and language are being recognized and appreciated. College students and anthropologists learn and record them before they disappear forever, and Luz is proud to have helped save the flower-song of her people. Amescua succeeds in introducing Luz, who became the embodiment of the “soul of Mexico.” The author’s note serves to fill in any informational gaps. Tonatiuh’s signature artwork once again nearly tells the story by itself. Closely following the text, the illustrations bring Luz to life. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

An important window into the ravages of colonialism and the plight of the Indigenous peoples of Mexico. (timeline, glossary, notes, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 6-11)

Kirkus Reviews