Napí

by Antonio Ramírez, Domi (Illustrator)

Napí is a young Mazateca girl who lives with her family in a little village on the bank of a river in the state of Oaxaca in Mexico. Each afternoon the family sits beneath the shade of a huge ceiba tree and listens to the grandfather’s stories. As Napí listens, dreamily, the afternoons take on different colors in her imagination – orange, purple, violet and green. She finds nighttime along the river just as beautiful as the trees fill with white herons settling on their branches. The ceiba tree sends Napí dreams every night, and in her favorite one, she becomes a heron, gliding freely along the river.

Domi’s vibrant palette and magical illustrations are a perfect complement to this imaginative story.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Latinx

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 2004

About the author

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Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story and pictures in this book are both unusual. I am not sure how I feel about either, but both were also somehow compelling to me.

[Joanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing art, amazing cultural POV, amazing imagination. So many gems in this story, from wanting to fly, to burying the belly button, to the colors of the river. My kids loved this book and so did I.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second Napi book that I've read and I just love the combination of Antonio Ramirez's text and Domi's illustrations. It's almost whimsical -- the pacing is unique and excellent and the illustrations beg to be looked at again and again. An absolutely beautiful combination. This book specifically has a unique emphasis on colors -- would be a great way to deepen the understanding of what colors can mean instead of just the basic identification of them. I'll definitely be reading the rest of Ramirez's and Domi's work.

[Skylar Burris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Three pages into this, my daughter interrupted me and said, "Mommy, will you tell me a story?" Not a good sign. I suppose part of the problem is that folk art doesn't much appeal to a four-year-old who is drawing similarly crude pictures herself. The other part of the problem is that the story is dull.

[Riegs · Rating 3 out of 5]

Napí is a Mazateca Indian from Oaxaca, Mexico. Though she is poor, her imagination colors the landscape of her family's home.

This is a good "art book" for exposing students to indigenous culture - may not be the best readaloud.

[Gina Ruiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://ginasblogging.blogspot.com/200...

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is written entirely in Spanish so I was unable to read it. However, the illustrations were amazing. The illustrator was the same as "Senora Reganona'.

[Vandy]

grades k- up