Description: What lies behind the brilliant colors and intricate patterns of a traditional Mayan tunic? A Guatemalan girl reveals the ways a handwoven garment connects her to generations of women before her.
Together, the threads in my huipilhold a message,
tell a story
of who we are.
Of who I am.
A young girl proudly wears a colorful tunic, or huipil, that features the sun's reflection. It symbolizes the lake she lives on, a design she sometimes embellishes with shimmering sequins and beads. Her abuela's huipil highlights zigzag mountains to stand for her home of origin, while her sister's boasts butterflies like the ones that she rides in her daydreams. Indigenous to Mesoamerica, huipils use colors, imagery, symbols, and motifs to evoke everything from the wearer's village to her social status, from her cultural heritage to the things that she loves. Combining a poetic text with vivid cut paper and digitally painted illustrations, interwoven with patterns from the huipils, this captivating book ends with an author's note exploring the history and process of this rich tradition, and the challenges of keeping it alive.
Review Quotes: A vibrant celebration of community, culture, and tradition infused with familial love.
--School Library Journal
--Kirkus Reviews SanMar combines digital illustrations with cut paper and threads, lending a textured appearance to many of the pages. . . . The deeply saturated teals, greens, reds, and yellows pair well with the lively yet reverent tone Armendia-Sánchez achieves. . . . A faithful translation in the Spanish version manages to carry the poetic cadence in a readaloud just as with the English version.
--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books