djahatimisor's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
danyell919's review against another edition
3.0
This is the perfect book to go along with the 5th grade Mayan unit in CKLA. I learned so much about the Mayan culture, weather, and corn farming. I think students would really enjoy Tigre and his story.
theblessedeveryday's review against another edition
4.0
This short, simple story is a quick, engaging read about Mayan culture.
tamarayork's review against another edition
1.0
Newbery challenge 112/412. Probably my least favorite on the Newbery list so far. The only redeeming element is the attempt to present Mayan culture. But the story doesn’t feel authentic. It ends up being generic, over simplified, and boring.
tealmango's review against another edition
3.0
Read the full review here: http://newberyandbeyond.com/newbery-roundup-march-edition/
lcalleros's review against another edition
2.0
This little children’s book was published in 1956 and has been sitting on my shelf forever! I finally decided to give it a chance since I was in between novels. This story of a Mayan boy and his family does seem dated and was just ok. If you read this in a classroom on a unit studying different cultures, it would probably be ok. Definitely as a read aloud or with discussion as I think the kids would need some help understanding the Spanish words used and the culture of the time the book is set in.
triscuit807's review against another edition
4.0
3.5-4 stars. Tigre is a 12 yr old boy who suddenly is faced with doing his father's work instead of just helping him. He must bush (cut down some of the forest) and then burn the debris to create a milpa in which to plant corn (and beans and squash); failure will mean hunger for his famiy. I quite enjoyed this book by an almost unknown author, but I'm a skeptic. I want to trust the facts that the story hangs on, i.e. the slash & burn agriculture and the mix of Christianity with Mayan gods. My knowledge of slash/burn agriculture is white, western, and educated; it's a bad thing and should never be practiced. Can it truly be a valid approach? In a climate with 2 seasons, wet and dry, would it be beneficial to the earth. On the other hand, crop rotation is a definite best practice, so the author's aside about the practice of rotating the milpa to keep the soil fertile rings true. Finally my true hesitancy in highly recommending this book comes from the total lack of info concerning Rhoads. There is no biography, nothing that tells who she was, where she was from, and why she wrote Mayan centered stories. Does she know what she's talking about? I read this for my 2020 Reading Challenge (Read Harder "rural setting") and my Newbery Challenge (Honor 1957). I read this via Open Library/Internet Archive due to library closures amid the Covid 19 pandemic.
scaifea's review against another edition
3.0
When his father breaks a leg clearing the bush for their yearly corn plot, a young boy in the Yucatan must take over the job, and then plant and tend the corn. A coming-of-age story with a verb basic introduction to the culture. I did enjoy the tensions hinted at between belief in the old gods and the more recently adopted Christian beliefs.
debnanceatreaderbuzz's review
3.0
Tigre’s father is hurt. It is to Tigre that the Mayan family must look to take over the father’s work. Tigre rises to the occasion and successfully helps the family to put in a good corn crop, though a severe drought threatened the family’s crop and their survival.
There was no feeling of judgment in this book, no feeling that the people in the story were savages or ignorant. Instead, the story was told from the point of view of a detached observer. The story holds up. Newbery Honor.
There was no feeling of judgment in this book, no feeling that the people in the story were savages or ignorant. Instead, the story was told from the point of view of a detached observer. The story holds up. Newbery Honor.
luann's review
3.0
This is another book that I enjoy while I'm reading, but I know that later I won't remember many details of the story. This is also another Newbery honor that I wonder why it won. Not that it isn't a perfectly nice story. It's a quick read and a coming-of-age story about Tigre, a young Maya boy in Yucatán who must plant the corn his family needs for food when his father is injured in an accident. The hardest part about planting the corn is that first the "milpa" or cornfield, which is a chosen area in the center of the forest, must be cleared (or bushed) by cutting down the trees and burning those trees after they have dried. The corn must then be planted with faith that the gods will send rain so that it will grow. In fact, all of the bushing, burning, and planting process must proceed with careful timing, attention to the weather, and with faith in the gods. For the Mayas, "making milpa" is a religious rite.
Hm, maybe I'll remember more of the details of this book now that I've put them in my review.
Quite a few people have shelved this as historical fiction, and it definitely has that feel. But it isn't strictly written as historical fiction. The time period is never mentioned. Is making milpa still something the Maya people did in 1956 when this was published? Do they still do it today? A quick check of Wikipedia confirms that "milpa is a crop-growing system used throughout Mesoamerica. It has been most extensively described in the Yucatán peninsula area of Mexico..." Consequently, I've shelved it as fiction. 3.5 stars.
A favorite quote:
Tigre worked on his rope. Several times he had to unravel it and start again, but each time it was a little easier. A few months ago, he thought, he would have given it up as not worth the trouble. But his persistence in keeping on with the bushing had done something more for him besides getting down bush. As using his muscles constantly had strengthened his arms, so doing the hard thing had exercised and strengthened his will. It was easier now for him to stick to unpleasant things.
Hm, maybe I'll remember more of the details of this book now that I've put them in my review.
Quite a few people have shelved this as historical fiction, and it definitely has that feel. But it isn't strictly written as historical fiction. The time period is never mentioned. Is making milpa still something the Maya people did in 1956 when this was published? Do they still do it today? A quick check of Wikipedia confirms that "milpa is a crop-growing system used throughout Mesoamerica. It has been most extensively described in the Yucatán peninsula area of Mexico..." Consequently, I've shelved it as fiction. 3.5 stars.
A favorite quote:
Tigre worked on his rope. Several times he had to unravel it and start again, but each time it was a little easier. A few months ago, he thought, he would have given it up as not worth the trouble. But his persistence in keeping on with the bushing had done something more for him besides getting down bush. As using his muscles constantly had strengthened his arms, so doing the hard thing had exercised and strengthened his will. It was easier now for him to stick to unpleasant things.
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