Starred Review ALA Booklist

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."

School Library Journal Starred Review (Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2021)

Gr 1-5 The moving story of one of the biggest cultural influences on Mexican culture. Luz Jiménez loves learning about her Nahua culturefrom 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

Horn Book (Mon Feb 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

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

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)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

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.)