I Am La Luna

by Janine Wheeler, David Díaz (Illustrator)

A Yaqui/Mexican Tale. Tells of the wooing of the Moon by the Sun. El Sol wants to marry La Luna. Will the Moon say yes?

Genres: Childrens

32 pages, Staple Bound

First published December 28, 2004

Reviews

[Amber]

El Sol loves La Luna. La Luna loves her freedom. Can El Sol complete the impossible task that La Luna has asked of him in order to marry her? I Am La Luna, written by Janine Wheeler and illustrated by David Diaz, is a version of the folk tale of the Yaqui Tribe of Mexico. La Luna loves to dance and sing alone by the starlight. Her bright shiny beauty attracts the love of El Sol. El Sol wishes to marry La Luna, who agrees on one condition. He must make a skirt that perfectly fits her. As La Luna changes shape as the phases of the moon pass, El Sol is never able to make a skirt that fits. Alas, her trick has fooled El Sol, and she remains happy and alone, just as she wanted. I Am La Luna is beautifully illustrated and dripping with vivid colors to make La Luna's magnificent glow stand out and El Sol's bright hot rays make your skin tingle. Poems/songs are incorporated into the text to display the characters' emotions and make the story interactive. The moral of staying true to oneself and the dilemma of tricking someone to spare their feelings could easily be discussed with students. This book has been incorporated into English Language Development curriculums, through the publisher Hampton-Brown, due to its multicultural perspective and use of easily recognized Spanish words. Recommended for ages 5-9. The vocabulary is simple, with key words included for learning and instruction.

[Ka Youa]

This is a folk tale from the Yaqui tribe of Mexico. The two main characters of this story is La Luna (the moon) and El Sol (the sun). This story talks about how La Luna is a beautiful and happy moon. She loves herself very much because she is very shiny and bright. She can dance and sing at night, and she really enjoys being alone by herself. The sun called El Sol usually gets to see La Luna in the morning. He really enjoys listens to La Luna sings and dances. Since he thinks La Luna is so beautiful, he asks La Luna to marry him. La Luna tells El Sol that she will marry him if he finds the perfect right size of skirt that can fit La Luna. If he did not find the right skirt, she will not marry him. El Sol tries and tries to find the right size of skirt to fit La Luna, but she changes size all the times. He cannot find the right size to fit La Luna, so at the end he cannot marry her.

This story supports traditional literature because it demonstrates clear structure, plots, rhymes and repetitions. The story also has some poems in the story that illustrates great rhymes for students to learn. I am sure that this story must be passed from one person to the next about the moon and the sun.

I find it hard to figure out what kind of concepts that this book can integrate into the classroom. I find it interesting that La Luna is alone but still happy. This really shows that regardless what, she prefers to be the happy individual. It really takes an individual to be alone and still be happy. I think that I would read this story to students if I wanted to share with them a story from cultural perspectives, especially if we are learning about the Mexican’s cultures. Every culture has a story about the moon and the sun. This reading is preferable for grades 1-3.

[Velia]

Beautiful artwork. I knew the tale already, but I was more curious about the art.

***Spoiler alert****





The moon deliberately sent the sun on a wild goose chase because she was happy to be alone. She could've just told him she didn't want to marry him. I wouldn't say the story is appropriate for young children....maybe 12 or older...maybe.

I wish they had used Hiaki words in place of the Spanish ones.