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The Black Pearl by Scott O’Dell

Oct21

I just finished reading The Black Pearl, a Newbery Honor book published in 1967. I’m trying to decide what I think. It takes place in Mexico, Baja California, and it’s very Catholic as would be appropriate for the setting. In the story, which is something of a fairy tale about a boy and the Monster Manta Diablo, the Madonna of the Sea is a direct representative of or substitute for God Himself, which bothers my Protestant brain. But it’s a good and well written fairy tale or folk tale about the dangers of pride and hubris and the mystery of God’s (or the Madonna’s?) will and working in the world.

The protagonist, Ramon Salazar, is sixteen years old and concerned about becoming a man. The coming of age theme is huge in this story. The Black Pearl, or the Pearl of Heavens as it is also named, is something of a MacGuffin, sought, found, given away, stolen, lost again, and replaced, all over the course of 140 pages of the book. The real story is about what’s going on inside Ramon, and his father, and Ramon’s enemy, Gaspar Ruiz the Sevillano. Ramon wants to go pearl diving, something his father has never allowed him to do, and he dreams of finding the largest and most valuable pearl of all, the Pearl of Heaven. (In fact, I think the book should have been called The Pearl of Heaven instead of The Black Pearl, but they didn’t ask me.) Diving for pearls is dangerous, however, and one of the most dangerous creatures in the sea is the manta, also known as a manta ray or devilfish.

We are told that the manta, especially The Manta Diablo, is a huge monster creature that has the power to swallow up an entire ship and that it is a “creature of beauty and of evil whom only two have seen with their eyes.” Ramon tells the reader in the beginning of the story that he is one of the two who have seen The Manta Diablo.

This book reminded me of Steinbeck’s The Pearl and of The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. But the similarities in setting and tone are superficial, I think. It’s been a long time since I read The Pearl. I don’t know exactly what I thin of this one. I sort of liked it. It’s about how the intent of the gift matters. A sacrifice or offering given out of spite and and in an attempt to buy God’s favor is wrong. But a gift given in adoration and gratitude is accepted. That part rings true. I wouldn’t suggest it for middle grade children, but older teens might enjoy puzzling out the meaning of this tale and engaging in the adventure.

Christmas in Mexico, 1960

Nov28

The Year of the Christmas Dragon by Ruth Sawyer.

At first glance, this Christmas story seems to be set in the mountains of China, home of many dragons, including the King Dragons. In fact, the story does begin with a boy named Chin Li in China:

“He could see dragons everywhere: immense, ancient dragons; lazy, fat dragons; small scrawny dragons. Except for size they all looked alike. They had shining green scales covering their bodies and tails. They had black spots here and there, and their noses and claws were black. The splendid part of them was their wings; these were a bright red, and when they spread their wings Chin Li could see they were lined with gold.”

However, Chin Li and a certain dragon with whom he becomes friendly are infected with wanderlust, and they travel together across the ocean to a new land, Mexico. And there the dragon falls asleep and sleeps for a very long time, only to awaken to another friendship with a Mexican boy named Pepe. And as Christmas approaches, Pepe tells the dragon about the wonderful true story of Christmas:

“For a number of days Pepe came to the barranca shouting with the joy of the Christmas. Many things had to be explained to the dragon. Angels, for instance. Pepe told about the shining light about their heads, about their wings, white as a dove’s, about the heavenly music they could make. Pepe’s eyes shone with some of the light as he told, and his voice caught some of the heavenly music. He had to tell about the star that shone the first Christmas Eve. No one had ever told him how large and bright it had been. ‘It must have been brighter than the moon,’ Pepe explained. ‘And truly it must have been larger than the largest rocket ever sent into the sky.'”

How Pepe’s dragon becomes the Christmas Dragon and how the year of the dragon’s wakening becomes The Year of the Christmas Dragon complete this tale that dragon lovers will find enchanting. The reading level and interest level of the story is about on par with other dragon tales such as My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett or The Reluctant Dragon by Kenneth Grahame.

For Christmas giving, pair this book with a stuffed dragon toy or a dragon costume, and you will delight any dragon fan below the age of 10.

Hola! Let’s Learn Spanish by Judy Martialay

Jan11

I received this book for review from the author back in early December, but I’m just now getting around to looking at it. Ms. Martialay, a retired foreign language teacher, created her book and the accompanying online materials for children ages six to ten who don’t have access to foreign language classes in their elementary schools. The book uses the “English story with interspersed Spanish words and phrases” method of introducing children to the Spanish language. (There’s probably a formal name for this technique, but I don’t know it.) The story is a little bit silly, all about a jumping bean named Panchito and his adventures in the bean field, at the market and in the home of some children, but young children should enjoy listening and picking up a few Spanish words as they listen. There’s also information on Spanish culture, focused on Mexico, a craft suggestion for making masks, and a skit and a song.

The best part is the listening online, not the book which is $19.99 for a thirty page book(let) with some cute illustrations and the words and story and extras in print. Parents and teachers will appreciate the book. However, children/students, the target audience, will enjoy listening to the audio version of the book, available for free at the website polyglotkidz.com, with or without the book. Adults who don’t know any Spanish at all can still use this curriculum with their students by just playing the audio version, following along in the book, and watching the kids learn a little Spanish in a fun and pretty much effortless manner.

You do need to know that this book and audio do not make up a full elementary Spanish curriculum, just an introduction or a taste. If your children want to really learn Spanish, you’ll have to follow up with something more intensive: lessons with a native Spanish speaker or Spanish for Kids or MUZZY Spanish. Hola! Let’s Learn Spanish will serve to get the kids interested and give them a bit of vocabulary, but it will only take a week or two to exhaust everything that’s in the book and be ready to move on.

By the way, I wish I knew how to type Spanish punctuation, including the upside-down exclamation mark (!) that’s supposed to come before the word Hola! in the title of this book. Unfortunately, I don’t, and it annoys me to have it wrong. But it’s right on the cover of the book, and that’s the important thing.