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Hispanic Hertiage Month--Some Legends of Puerto Rico

Hispanic Heritage Month is every September 15th to October 15th. Last year we really focused on Mexico for Hispanic Heritage Month. We also have done two Mexican Cinderella tales in our Fairy Tales in Different Culture series (as well as a Hispanic American version). This year we are going to expand out a bit. You will be seeing some Hispanic Heritage posts in our Fairy Tales in Different Cultures series (including this week) as well as our Flamingo Friday posts. Today I am going to share with you two wonderful picture books that tell two legends from Puerto Rico. Before I begin with the books, I need to send out a huge thank you to Daria over at Daria Music for sending these great books to me. If you have not checked out Daria's site, you should. She has amazing CD's as well as a great monthly page with several giveaways each month. This month she is giving away a basket full of castanets and a set of fair trade zamponas.

The first book is The Legend of the Hummingbird retold by Michael Rose Ramirez. This is a lovely tale of forbidden young love. A young Taino girl, Alida, meets a young Caribe man, Taroo. Tainos and Caribes were enemies of each other. The two became friends meeting at their favorite spot and talking for hours. Soon the friendship turned to love. One day they are spotted by a Taino and word gets back to Alida's fatehr. Her father forbids her to see Taroo and arranges for her to marry someone else. The stars help Alida by turning her into a red flower.
Colibri-thalassinus-001-edit
Source
Taroo did not know why Alida was not meeting him until the moon told him what had happened. The stars turned him into the first hummingbird. The people named him the next day since his wings made a humming sound. Now hummingbirds love flowers, but anyone who knows much about them knows red flowers are their favorite. The people of Puerto Rico believe each hummingbird is Taroo looking for his lost love, Alida. 

Source: DLTK Kids
At the end of the book there are several pages of information about Puerto Rico including the flag and a bit of the history of the Tainos. It also includes information about hummingbird legends and other legends where people are turned into animals.



Now this story was extra special to us since my father loves hummingbirds (as did his mother, my grandmother, Hazel). My father has several hummingbird feeders around his yard and one of our favorite things to do is watch the birds at the feeder near their picture window. We will be doing more hummingbird crafts at some point. This time we found this wonderful craft to make at Learn Create Love. It is a wonderful printable that all you have to do is print and color and glue together. Hazel helped with the gluing since she was tired of coloring.


Our next book is How the Sea Began: A Taino Myth retold by George Crespo. This is a wonderful tale about a young Taino hunter, Yayael.Throughout this book there are references to the Taino culture. It is a wonderful story to learn a bit more about the history of Puerto Rico and its people. The story tells how the spirit of the young hunter helps his village survive and then when some young boys get greedy and rushed how the help backfires to flood and produce the seas filled with sealife. The Taino people celebrated because they realized they would never be hungry again with all the fish in the sea to eat.
Taino Child in Forest--Source

So those are two wonderful books to learn a bit about the indigenous people of Puerto Rico and a little history and culture. Tomorrow (and next Monday) we will be sharing a fairy tale from Chile. Now for the exciting part. The MKB Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop and prizes!




Hispanic Heritage Blog Hop - MulticulturalKidBlogs.com
Welcome to the Second Annual Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop, hosted this year by Multicultural Kid Blogs and 15 of our member blogs! Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15 every year, "celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America" (from HispanicHeritageMonth.gov) Be sure to visit all of the participating blogs (listed below) and follow our related Pinterest boards:

Enter to Win

This year to celebrate we are giving away fabulous prizes! You can enter two ways: 1) Link up a post in the linky at the bottom of this post (each post will count as an entry) 2) Make a comment on the main Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop post on the Multicultural Kid Blogs page answering the question, "How do you celebrate your heritage with your children?" Our Prizes Please note that there are shipping restrictions on some prizes. In the event that the winner lives outside of the shipping area, that portion of the prize will be added to the following prize package.

Grand Prize Package

Cricket Magazine - Spanish - Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop 

Annual subscription (print and digital) to one of the following children's magazines (winner's choice!): Babybug, Ladybug, or Ask en espanol (available at the end of September) or Iguana ($51.90 value). International winners will receive a digital subscription.
Hispanic Heritage Blog Hop 
Two Spanish activity books with games and exercises to review basic concepts, a card game that teaches wild animals in Spanish and English, two ceramic Day of the Dead skulls, and several small wooden toys.
Daria - Cancioncitas Booklet Cover - Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop
A Child’s Life In The Andes
is a 35 page e-book that brings the culture of this historic region alive through rich photographs, kid-friendly information as well as 3 children’s activities, 8 coloring pages, 2 language pages and a word search that features new vocabulary.
DARIA_Cancioncitas CD Cover - Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop
Cancioncitas De Los Andes/Little Songs Of The Andes
from Daria is a digital CD sharing authentic music from the Andes performed on traditional instruments. The CD includes the most famous song from that region; El Condor Pasa, along with 5 other songs from this historic area of the world.
Sofia Spanish - Kids Yoga Stories - Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop
Sofía en una Aventura por la Selva
from Kids Yoga Stories: Fly like a toucan, slither like a snake, and flutter like a butterfly as you act out this journey through a Costa Rican jungle. What else might you see? The storybook includes a List of Kids Yoga Poses and a Parent-Teacher Guide.

First Prize Package

Annual subscription (print and digital) to a children's magazine from Cricket. See details above.
Smart Play - Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop
Smart Play Pad
(SRP $ 24.99): Interactive tablet like electronic toy makes early learning fun and exciting for little ones. More than 30 touch sensitive keys teach language and pronunciation skills to help prepare children for school. Bilingual feature helps kids learn in English & Spanish. Lightweight and truly portable for on-the-go learning. Ships to US and Canada only.
Off We Go - Barefoot Books - Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop
Travel through Mexico with this beautiful picture book from Barefoot Books. Along the way, learn Spanish words and phrases and discover Mexican culture. Ships to the US, Canada, or Europe only.
Tico Tango - Barefoot Books - Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop
Discover the animals of the rainforest with The Parrot Tico Tango from Barefoot Books. The rhyming text and brilliant illustrations teach animals and colors. Ships to the US, Canada, or Europe only.
Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop
A Spanish-English picture dictionary, a simple workbook in Spanish geared towards 1st graders in Mexico, the classic "lotería" game, plus a couple of small wooden toys, courtesy of Kid World Citizen.

Second Prize Package

Annual subscription (print and digital) to a children's magazine from Cricket. See details above.
Mas Canciones en Espanol - Music with Sara - Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop
Más Canciones en Español
from Music with Sara: A wonderful collection of traditional songs from Latin America. Perfect for children learning Spanish.
Belpre Reading Kit - Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop - Multiculturalkidblogs.com
Reading kit for one children's biography highlighting Latina librarian, Pura Belpré, courtesy of Latinas for Latino Lit. Includes a copy of The Storyteller's Candle by Lucía González, a 16-page HHM Reading Kit full of book-based activities to promote literacy, with a folder, a pencil and set of colored pencils. Retail value: $15.95 Ships to the US only.

Unidad-Lupita - LA Libreria - Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop and Giveaway on Multicultural Kid Blogs 
Unidad Lupita, by Jaime Alfonso Sandoval, Illustration by Natalia Gurovich, from LA librería. Ships to the US only.
Que Animales! from La libreria - Hispanic Heritage Month Blog Hop and Giveaway on Multicultural Kid Blogs 
¡Qué animales! by Eduardo Bustos, Illustrations Lucho Rodriguez, from LA librería. Ships to the US only.

Participating Blogs

Link Up Your Posts

5 comments:

  1. These sound like awesome books! Putting them on our "must get" list!

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  2. Thank you for sharing these books and learning ideas at After School!

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  3. I have to admit that I was excited to see a post about my beautiful Puerto Rico! I love your post, and of course, I will add these two books to our reading list. Unfortunately, I doubt that I will find them at our local library, but I will give it a try. If not, I may have to purchase them. :) Thanks!

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  4. Love the book recommendations and the hummingbird craft is beautiful! Thanks for sharing at the After School Linky!

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  5. A fantastic list of books and on a personal note, I just love Puerto Rico. It was one of the best discoveries I ever made. Such a beautiful island. Thanks also for celebrating Multicultural Children's Book Day with us.

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I love to hear your comments and ideas. Thank you for reading and contributing!