Mario's Mayan Journey
Kindergarten-Grade 2.  Mario, a young Mexican boy, is fascinated by stories of the Mayan people and their artifacts. He dreams himself into a jungle setting with a boy and girl who switch to Spanish when he doesn't understand their Mayan language and take him on a journey into the past. Flamingos carry the three to the Temple of the Warriors in Chichen Itza where they see a mural that depicts Mayan life. They then journey on foot into the surrounding jungle and make a shelter as night falls. Mario awakens in his own bed and decides to capture the journey in murals that fill the walls of his room. Pastel watercolors portray an uncharacteristically pale jungle inhabited by toucans, quetzals, and white pelicans as well as turtles, monkeys, and jaguars. In this quiet tale without much drama, conflict, or action, Mario's face hardly ever changes expression from one page to the next. A glossary with pronunciation guides defines such unfamiliar words as anthropology, Chichen Itza, ocelot, etc. The children's short bilingual conversations (e.g., "'Ven con nosotros,' they said. 'Come with us'") expand the appeal of the slight story, and the pale green maps of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, and parts of Central America on the endpapers provide a geographical context.?Frances E. Millhouser, Chantilly Regional Library, VACopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.