Juana Martinez-Neal is the Peruvian-born daughter and granddaughter of painters. Her debut as an author-illustrator, Alma and How She Got Her Name, was awarded a Caldecott Honor and was published in Spanish as Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre. She also illustrated La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya, for which she won a Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, Babymoon by Hayley Barrett, Swashby and the Sea by Beth Ferry, and Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, which won a Robert F. Sibert Medal. Juana Martinez-Neal lives in Connecticut with her family. Visit her online at www.juanamartinezneal.com.
This book isn’t just about the Peruvian Amazon, it literally is the
Peruvian Amazon: Its illustrations were created on paper made from
banana bark by women living in the village of Chazuta. Its
delightfully impish main character is Asháninka, the area’s largest
Indigenous group. . . . But what truly makes it stand out is its
message of self-determination: These Indigenous people,
Martinez-Neal has written, are “not saved but take charge.
—The New York Times Book Review
In her first solo project since her Caldecott Honor–winning Alma
and How She Got Her Name (2018), Martinez-Neal presents a tale that
is both celebratory and cautionary in nature. . . Martinez-Neal’s
rounded, soft-textured illustrations are wonderfully inviting and
involve linocut and woodcut leaves and fronds printed on natural
banana-bark paper. Amid these varied greens, Zonia shines in her
marigold tunic, as do many of the warmly or brightly colored animal
friends she visits; young readers will enjoy finding the blue
butterfly in every spread and learning the names of the rain forest
creatures, which are identified in the back matter. The text is
kept to two short sentences per double-page spread, reflecting
Zonia’s uncomplicated and innocent view of the world, which is
shaken when she stumbles upon a large section of clear-cut forest.
This scene is Martinez-Neal’s call to action for her readers.
—Booklist (starred review)
Zonia, a young Asháninka girl living in the Amazon rainforest
begins her days with a walk through the lush forest and greeting
all her animal friends. . . On her way home, the young Indigenous
girl stumbles upon a patch that has been a victim of deforestation.
Frightened, she decides she must answer the call to protect her
home. . .This beautiful look at a young girl’s life and her
determination to save her home is a perfect read for young
environmentalists.
—School Library Journal (starred review)
In Juana Martinez-Neal's Zonia's Rain Forest, super-cute critters
are out in full force. . .A girl who lives in the rain forest
begins each day by greeting her animal friends in this exuberant
picture book crowned with an environmental message.
—Shelf Awareness
In wispy mixed-media art that includes linocuts on banana bark
paper, Martinez-Neal introduces Zonia’s friends, the animals of the
Amazon—blue morph butterflies, river dolphins, sloths, and more—who
interact with the child in their shared home. . . Further
supporting this striking look at the way environmental destruction
disenfranchises Indigenous communities, back matter contextualizes
the final images and, alongside material about life in the Amazon,
includes a translation of the text into Asháninka.
—Publishers Weekly
A young Asháninka girl in the Peruvian rain forest enjoys exploring
her surroundings—until one day she sees something that frightens
her. . . Sweet illustrations done on handmade banana-bark paper
depict a spunky and happy brown-skinned child with high cheekbones
and long black hair flying in the wind.
—Kirkus Reviews
The illustrations are made with woodcut prints and drawn with ink
and pencils on homemade banana leaf paper. They are gentle, joyful
illustrations with a blue butterfly following Zonia throughout the
story. The end of the book includes information on the Ashaninka
people and lists threats to the Amazon rainforest.
—School Library Connection
Zonia and her family are Asháninka, members of the largest
Indigenous group of the Peruvian Amazon. When she notices a
deforested area in her beloved rainforest, she pledges to act to
protect her home.
—TODAY online
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