This visually stunning biography tells the extraordinary story of how model and teacher Luz Jiménez became “the soul of Mexico”—a living link between the indigenous Nahua and the rest of the world. 35,000 first printing. Illustrations. - (Baker & Taylor)

A fictionalized account of a Nahua woman who grew up in Mexico during the early 1900s, became a model for artists, worked with scholars to preserve Nahuatl language and stories, and was known as the "soul of Mexico." Includes author's note, timeline, andglossary. - (Baker & Taylor)

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. - (Grand Central Pub)

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. - (Harry N. Abrams, Inc.)

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. - (Grand Central Pub)

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. - (Harry N. Abrams, Inc.)

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Amescua introduces Luz Jiménez, a young Nahua (Aztec) girl living in early twentieth-century Mexico. As a child she learned the ways of her people: grinding corn, weaving yarn, making brooms, and finding medicinal herbs. She listened to stories, became adept at her native language, and, once Indigenous children were allowed to attend school, learned Spanish as well. After her father was killed in the Mexican Revolution, the family moved to Mexico City, where Luz posed for artists (Diego Rivera among them) and informed scholars about Nahua culture and language. 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. Outlined characters appear in profile, with ovoid-shaped heads and ears resembling the number three, and he often uses collaged textures to color in the images. The referenced flowers appear often, unifying the spreads. Additionally, 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. Appended with generous back matter, this is a worthy and overdue look at a woman often called "the soul of Mexico." Grades 1-4. Copyright 2021 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

Luz Jimenez was an Indigenous Nahua girl from Milpa Alta, on the outskirts of Mexico City, who grew up to realize her dreams of becoming a teacher and working to preserve the Nahua language and culture. As a child, she was not allowed to go to school -- that is, until the government realized that education could be used as a tool to control Indigenous people (to turn the native children into modern ones, like the descendants of the Spanish who ruled the country, who thought only their ways were right and proper) at the cost of preserving their traditional ways of life. When the Mexican Revolution came in 1911, Jimenez's father was killed in the fighting and chaos, and the family moved to Mexico City, where Luz was fortunate to find work as a model for some of the leading artists of the day, including Diego Rivera. When the war ended, she returned to Milpa Alta and found her true calling as a teacher. Tonatiuh's (Soldier for Equality, rev. 1/20; Feathered Serpent and the Five Suns, rev. 11/20) 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 makes his art such a good complement to Amescua's text. Flowers, a Nahua metaphor for poetry, are incorporated throughout. An author's note, a timeline, a glossary, source notes, and a bibliography are appended. Copyright 2023 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

Luz Jimenez was an Indigenous Nahua girl from Milpa Alta, on the outskirts of Mexico City, who grew up to realize her dreams of becoming a teacher and working to preserve the Nahua language and culture. As a child, she was not allowed to go to school -- that is, until the government realized that education could be used as a tool to control Indigenous people ("to turn the native children into modern ones, like the descendants of the Spanish who ruled the country, who thought only their ways were right and proper") at the cost of preserving their traditional ways of life. When the Mexican Revolution came in 1911, Jimenez's father was killed in the fighting and chaos, and the family moved to Mexico City, where Luz was fortunate to find work as a model for some of the leading artists of the day, including Diego Rivera. When the war ended, she returned to Milpa Alta and found her true calling as a teacher. Tonatiuh's (Soldier for Equality, rev. 1/20; Feathered Serpent and the Five Suns, rev. 11/20) 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 makes his art such a good complement to Amescua's text. Flowers, a Nahua metaphor for poetry, are incorporated throughout. An author's note, a timeline, a glossary, source notes, and a bibliography are appended. Jonathan Hunt September/October 2021 p.111 Copyright 2021 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

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) Copyright Kirkus 2021 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

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.)

School Library Journal Reviews

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