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The Golden Flower: A Taino Myth From Puerto Rico
A myth from one of the indigenous cultures of the West Indies explains how a golden flower first brought water to the world and how Puerto Rico came into existence.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
November 9, 2020
Author and storyteller Nina Jaffe and illustrator Enrique O. Sánchez join forces in this picture-book presentation of a Taino creation myth from the island of Puerto Rico. In an ancient world with no water, a young boy finds some seeds, and plants them on a mountaintop, where a lush jungle grows. From this jungle a huge pumpkin in turn grows, a pumpkin that, when split open, disgorges all of the waters of the oceans and rivers, and all of the creatures within those waters. So the jungle mountaintop became an island, and Boriquén (Puerto Rico) came to be...
Although I have encountered Taino stories before, in such collections as Pura Belpré's Once in Puerto Rico , I have never before read a picture-book retelling of an individual tale from this people, making The Golden Flower: A Taino Myth from Puerto Rico a distinct pleasure. The story here is matter-of-factly magical, in that way that myths so often are, and the accompanying artwork, done in acrylic and gouache, is lovely. One must suspend disbelief in stories such as this, of course, but a part of me couldn't help but wonder how the forest and pumpkin grew in the first place, when water wasn't released into the world until the pumpkin split open. Leaving that aside, this was an enjoyable tale, and is one I would recommend to young folklore enthusiasts, and to readers seeking traditional Puerto Rican and/or Taino tales.
Although I have encountered Taino stories before, in such collections as Pura Belpré's Once in Puerto Rico , I have never before read a picture-book retelling of an individual tale from this people, making The Golden Flower: A Taino Myth from Puerto Rico a distinct pleasure. The story here is matter-of-factly magical, in that way that myths so often are, and the accompanying artwork, done in acrylic and gouache, is lovely. One must suspend disbelief in stories such as this, of course, but a part of me couldn't help but wonder how the forest and pumpkin grew in the first place, when water wasn't released into the world until the pumpkin split open. Leaving that aside, this was an enjoyable tale, and is one I would recommend to young folklore enthusiasts, and to readers seeking traditional Puerto Rican and/or Taino tales.
February 19, 2015
The Golden Flower is a beautiful creation story that originates from a Taino myth. In summary, it is a creation story of how water and the sea come to earth, as well as how the Taino people’s island of Boriquen (Puerto Rico) was created. It begins with a child finding seeds that he plants at the top of the mountain where all the people live. From the seeds, a large forest grows, and in this forest, a flower grew. This flower transformed into a ball shaped pumpkin. As two men fight to take position of it, it falls and breaks open, spilling out the key features that will create the island! I think this book is creative in telling two types of creation stories in one. This book would be great for primary grades. Students would be given an opportunity to learn about a culture group that may be different from their own. The illustrations are outstanding. The colors are bright, yet mellow, until the revealing of what is in the pumpkin. From here, the colors are more vibrant. There is a slight divergent from the text to illustrations, but it certainly does not take away the effective depicts of the core of the story. There are unfamiliar words in this book, so the only weakness I see is not providing the reader with tools to assist in pronouncing theses words. The story does have a great start as it asks the reader to imagine sitting in a magic circle listening to this story. This provides a great transition to bring in young readers to whole class reading circles.
March 9, 2020
Author Nina Jaffe and Illustrator Enrique O. Sanchez (2005). This is a Taino myth from Puerto Rico explaining how a golden flower brought water and sea animals to earth. The story is told in simple language and is easy to follow. The narrator begins by setting up the story and asks the reader to imagine themself, "...sitting in the magic circle on a warm tropical night." “In the beginning of the world there was no water anywhere on earth.” The earth had no green plants and no flowers. One day a child found a seed that he placed into his pouch. He began to find more and more seeds until one day he decided to plant them at the top of a mountain. A beautiful garden of leaves and trees emerged. A vine appeared, a flower grew and the same flower transformed into a pumpkin. One day, two men determined to grab the pumpkin for themselves, began to fight and argue. They pulled until the pumpkin broke off the vine. It rolled down the mountain and burst apart. Here came the waves of water that covered the earth. The sea had been hidden inside the pumpkin. This would be a great book to use with children when teaching them myths and other cultures. There are a few Spanish words that are easily integrated into the story. The illustrations are bright in color. When speaking of the beginning times on earth the colors are warm yellow, orange and red. Once the pumpkin exposes the sea, the colors are a bright blue and green. Every page uses sharp lines and incorporates tribal like symbols. 1998 Pura Belpré Award. Target Audience: 4-7.
February 27, 2025
⭐️ 5
Que bonita bandera. 🇵🇷
Que bonita bandera. 🇵🇷
March 8, 2022
A beautifully told and illustrated Taino creation myth from the island of Boriquen (Puerto Rico).
February 2, 2013
The Golden Flower: A Taino Myth from Puerto Rico is a beautiful creation myth of how a beautiful golden flower brought water to the Earth.
This tale has beautiful elements of multicultural literature, while keeping the sophistication of a long loved creation myth. The tale has simple, short sentences that are easy for young readers to understand but are very rich and powerful language. There are a few Spanish words from the Puerto Rican culture that are easily integrated into the story including “calabaza”.
The art is absolutely gorgeous! I loved how the story talked about a golden flower, but the entire book seems to glow with a golden hue. The pictures seem to be layered in a way, too. They seem to have been created with different layers of paper and then all put into the same illustration. My favorite illustration is when the water finally released and the ocean animals are all swimming in the ocean. The bright and vivid colors are beautiful.
I would use this book in a younger classroom setting K-3 because the book is fairly simple and there aren’t many deep themes. It would also be used well in a Social Studies curriculum if a teacher was trying to find one creation tale for each part of the Earth that had been created – this would be the story for how water came to our planet!
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and I think students in a primary age classroom would enjoy the simple language, the bright illustrations, and the fun ending!
This tale has beautiful elements of multicultural literature, while keeping the sophistication of a long loved creation myth. The tale has simple, short sentences that are easy for young readers to understand but are very rich and powerful language. There are a few Spanish words from the Puerto Rican culture that are easily integrated into the story including “calabaza”.
The art is absolutely gorgeous! I loved how the story talked about a golden flower, but the entire book seems to glow with a golden hue. The pictures seem to be layered in a way, too. They seem to have been created with different layers of paper and then all put into the same illustration. My favorite illustration is when the water finally released and the ocean animals are all swimming in the ocean. The bright and vivid colors are beautiful.
I would use this book in a younger classroom setting K-3 because the book is fairly simple and there aren’t many deep themes. It would also be used well in a Social Studies curriculum if a teacher was trying to find one creation tale for each part of the Earth that had been created – this would be the story for how water came to our planet!
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book and I think students in a primary age classroom would enjoy the simple language, the bright illustrations, and the fun ending!
February 19, 2015
It is no surprise that "The Golden Flower" is an Honor Book for the Pura Belpre book in illustrations. They are fascinating!
This books tells the story of creation, from the Taino perspective, the native people from Borinquen, or Puerto Rico as we know it now. It follows a child who finds several seeds and plants them on top of a mountain. A thick and colorful forest grew along with that a strange "yellow globe that shone like the sun", neatly packed under a vine and flower. Because of the strange noises this orb was emitting, people and children stayed away from it. One day, two men, each on one opposing sides of the mountain, noticed this bright orb. They raised to the top of the mountain, grabbed it and started fighting for it, pushing, pulling and tugging until...and the rest is up to you to finish!
There is a clear separation from the text and the illustrations, but they complement each other very well. The illustrations have a cubism feel to them and definitely bring forth light to the emotions and grandiosity of the events that happened in the story.
This is a great book for Pre-k to 3rd grade if you'd like to introduce different art forms, different cultural groups and inferencing/predicitions.
This books tells the story of creation, from the Taino perspective, the native people from Borinquen, or Puerto Rico as we know it now. It follows a child who finds several seeds and plants them on top of a mountain. A thick and colorful forest grew along with that a strange "yellow globe that shone like the sun", neatly packed under a vine and flower. Because of the strange noises this orb was emitting, people and children stayed away from it. One day, two men, each on one opposing sides of the mountain, noticed this bright orb. They raised to the top of the mountain, grabbed it and started fighting for it, pushing, pulling and tugging until...and the rest is up to you to finish!
There is a clear separation from the text and the illustrations, but they complement each other very well. The illustrations have a cubism feel to them and definitely bring forth light to the emotions and grandiosity of the events that happened in the story.
This is a great book for Pre-k to 3rd grade if you'd like to introduce different art forms, different cultural groups and inferencing/predicitions.
February 6, 2014
This creation myth tells the specific tale of how the island of Puerto Rico came to be. Once a land with no water, Puerto Rico is transformed when a young boy goes to the top of the mountain on which the people live and plants seeds that he has collected. Lush greenery and beautiful flowers grow. One particularly vibrant flower grows to be a pumpkin that the people are both drawn to and afraid of due to the strange sounds that come from within. What does the pumpkin hold?
This is a beautiful book with vivid illustrations that draw the reader into the world of the story. The text and illustrations work together to convey the meaning and bring the story to life; a story that is particularly interesting since the creation of an island begins with no water.
I think that this text lends itself well to use in the classroom. Depending on the activity you had in mind, it could be used even in to upper grades, middle, and high school. I can see it being particularly useful if you are working on making predictions from text.
This is a beautiful book with vivid illustrations that draw the reader into the world of the story. The text and illustrations work together to convey the meaning and bring the story to life; a story that is particularly interesting since the creation of an island begins with no water.
I think that this text lends itself well to use in the classroom. Depending on the activity you had in mind, it could be used even in to upper grades, middle, and high school. I can see it being particularly useful if you are working on making predictions from text.
October 6, 2017
This is a children's book and the illustrations are just beautiful. I did the Ancestry DNA test and found out that I am 14% Native American so I decided to read a little bit about Puerto Rican native American ancestry. This book talks about the legend of how Puerto Rico became an island. I really enjoyed it.
February 2, 2018
The Golden Flower falls under the myth subgenre. That’s because it was created by ancient Taino people to explain how Boriquén became a home. This book was very simple, yet had a lot of informational facts. I really liked how the story was told and how complicated information was explained or simplified. On the first page, the author tried to bring the reader into the story by having them imagine that they are a part of the Taino community. I thought that was interesting because kids have great imaginations and that could just help them become more interested in the book as well as reading in general.
The illustrations in this book were pretty interesting. I liked how they matched up with what was being told on each page. Although, I did not like all the geometric shapes and how many different colors each object had. For example, on the last page there was a fish and on that fish, was different lines, like waves and swirls. Another example would be towards the beginning of the book, when the desert was shown. There was one section that had a scale like feature, another with what looked like a face and another that looked pretty realistic. These features where just too busy and distracting for me.
This book also contains realistic emotional feelings in the characters. When people saw what the seed became, they feared it, like a normal reaction to something new. There were also a few lessons taught in this book. One being power, for example, when the two men fought over the pumpkin because they figured they’d gain more power from it. Another lesson is how when people fight over things, in the end no one gets to have what they wanted. With that being said, I don’t get where that scene plays a role in the book. That’s because there was nothing said about the boy who helped create the pumpkin, gaining power from all that he had done. Lastly, I thought it was pretty confusing how a pumpkin could have produced so much. This could be confusing for children because they may know a pumpkin as a fruit. So then how can water, fish, and crabs come out of it? This may have been better if the author just kept the plant as a random, unique plant.
The illustrations in this book were pretty interesting. I liked how they matched up with what was being told on each page. Although, I did not like all the geometric shapes and how many different colors each object had. For example, on the last page there was a fish and on that fish, was different lines, like waves and swirls. Another example would be towards the beginning of the book, when the desert was shown. There was one section that had a scale like feature, another with what looked like a face and another that looked pretty realistic. These features where just too busy and distracting for me.
This book also contains realistic emotional feelings in the characters. When people saw what the seed became, they feared it, like a normal reaction to something new. There were also a few lessons taught in this book. One being power, for example, when the two men fought over the pumpkin because they figured they’d gain more power from it. Another lesson is how when people fight over things, in the end no one gets to have what they wanted. With that being said, I don’t get where that scene plays a role in the book. That’s because there was nothing said about the boy who helped create the pumpkin, gaining power from all that he had done. Lastly, I thought it was pretty confusing how a pumpkin could have produced so much. This could be confusing for children because they may know a pumpkin as a fruit. So then how can water, fish, and crabs come out of it? This may have been better if the author just kept the plant as a random, unique plant.
February 29, 2016
Title: A Golden Flower: A Taino Myth From Puerto Rico
Author: Nina Jaffe
Illustrator: Enrique Sanchez
Genre: Myth Book, Concept Book
Theme(s): Mythology, Literature, Indians of West Indies, Folklore, Taino Indians, Creation, Sea, Island
Opening Line/Sentence:
Long ago, the island of Puerto Rico was called Boriquén.
Brief Book Summary:
This book is a myth about the creation of the Boriquen Island in Puerto Rico. The book started out with Taino Indians and how there was no water anywhere in this area. One boy went to the bottom of their hill and found a seed, the young boy continued to collect seeds until he did not have room for anymore. He then planted the seeds on the top of their hill. A pumpkin grew where the seeds were planted. One day after two young men got in an argument over the pumpkin and who got to keep it, the pumpkin fell out of their arms and rolled down the big hill till it smashed into a tree. At this point the pumpkin broke and then water, fish, dolphins, whales and many other sea animals were released from this pumpkin. This was the myth of how water and an island formed in Puerto Rico.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
Jaffe takes us back to the days before the Europeans when the island of Puerto Rico, called Boriqu an, was inhabited by the Taino. This is the creation tale they would have told around the fire at a celebration called an arieto. In the beginning of the world people live on top of a bare mountain in a desert. From seeds collected by a child and planted on the mountain, a magical garden begins to grow; then a vine, then a bright flower, and from that a large yellow globe. Sounds come from inside, so the frightened people stay away. Two men begin to fight to possess what is really a calabaza or pumpkin. The pumpkin breaks loose and apart, releasing the mighty sea and all its creatures. It rises only to the magic garden/ forest, bringing water to the thirsty plants and happy people of Puerto Rico. S nchez visualizes this mystical story with pastel-like softness, including symbols possibly derived from some historic resource, both abstract and naturalistic shapes that emphasize esthetic appeal, at some times cubistic in design while delightfully decorative at others. The trees in the forest are particularly inventive; the waves spilling from the magic pumpkin suggest fabrics. This story is interesting to compare with other creation myths from many sources. 2005, Pinata Books/Arte Publico Press, $14.95. Ages 4 to 8.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 8))
The island of Puerto Rico, originally called BoriquTn by its Taino inhabitants, was once, according to legend, a barren mountain. A child, looking for food, collected a pouch full of seeds and planted them at the top of the mountain, which then sprouted a forest. A vine in the forest grew a magnificent orange flower, from which emerged an enormous golden "globe that shone like the sun"-a pumpkin (calabaza). Unbeknownst to the people, this pumpkin contained the sea. When two men, fighting over the pumpkin, dropped it, it rolled down the mountain, where it burst open, releasing the sea and "whales, dolphins, crabs, and sunfish." The waters rose until they stopped at the edge of the magic forest, creating the island of BoriquTn. Beautifully and simply written, this little-known tale is a welcome addition to creation myths. Unfortunately, although Jaffe acknowledges help in ascertaining "historical and linguistic accuracy and detail," she includes no original source. The illustrations in luscious tropical colors, with shapes and patterns (especially spirals) reminiscent of pre-Columbian art, are perfect. 2005, Pi-ata Books/ArtT P blico, 32p, $14.95. Category: Picture book/folktale. Ages 5 to 10. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
I agree with the two professional reviews. I think this book was a very unique myth about the creation of an island in Puerto Rico. I agree with the second professional review that this story is very interesting, I have never read a book about creation and I thought this one was very well written. I thought the visuals portrayed the events in the text and the Indians very well. I think it would be interesting for students to read a book about creation to use their imagination and get ideas about some myths. I think the book could have better defined the beliefs and customs with the Taino Indians and I think both professional reviews touch upon that concept as well that the book lacks.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
This text in this book was very descriptive and did a great job of describing some of the events and scenes that took place in this book. I thought the colors that the illustrator used were very colorful and fit the idea of an island and very well done. The plot of this story was very well thought out and included the creation of something huge like the ocean and described how this creation myth came about and the events that formed along with it. The theme stuck with the idea of creation. I think the book could have touched upon the Taino Indians more than it did.
Consideration of Instructional Approach:
This book can be an instructional approach to many different subjects to touch upon various different topics. This book can be used for an activity with younger children around the science subject, the students can plant their own seed and throughout the school year watch the different stages of the plant grow and use this as a science lesson. As the students are viewing the different stages of the plant then they can work together in groups and write their observations to hang around the room and write down what they think will happen to the plants cycle next like their predictions. This can be placed all throughout the classrooms and then the students can also write the similarities and differences they notice from their predictions.
Author: Nina Jaffe
Illustrator: Enrique Sanchez
Genre: Myth Book, Concept Book
Theme(s): Mythology, Literature, Indians of West Indies, Folklore, Taino Indians, Creation, Sea, Island
Opening Line/Sentence:
Long ago, the island of Puerto Rico was called Boriquén.
Brief Book Summary:
This book is a myth about the creation of the Boriquen Island in Puerto Rico. The book started out with Taino Indians and how there was no water anywhere in this area. One boy went to the bottom of their hill and found a seed, the young boy continued to collect seeds until he did not have room for anymore. He then planted the seeds on the top of their hill. A pumpkin grew where the seeds were planted. One day after two young men got in an argument over the pumpkin and who got to keep it, the pumpkin fell out of their arms and rolled down the big hill till it smashed into a tree. At this point the pumpkin broke and then water, fish, dolphins, whales and many other sea animals were released from this pumpkin. This was the myth of how water and an island formed in Puerto Rico.
Professional Recommendation/Review #1:
Ken Marantz and Sylvia Marantz (Children's Literature)
Jaffe takes us back to the days before the Europeans when the island of Puerto Rico, called Boriqu an, was inhabited by the Taino. This is the creation tale they would have told around the fire at a celebration called an arieto. In the beginning of the world people live on top of a bare mountain in a desert. From seeds collected by a child and planted on the mountain, a magical garden begins to grow; then a vine, then a bright flower, and from that a large yellow globe. Sounds come from inside, so the frightened people stay away. Two men begin to fight to possess what is really a calabaza or pumpkin. The pumpkin breaks loose and apart, releasing the mighty sea and all its creatures. It rises only to the magic garden/ forest, bringing water to the thirsty plants and happy people of Puerto Rico. S nchez visualizes this mystical story with pastel-like softness, including symbols possibly derived from some historic resource, both abstract and naturalistic shapes that emphasize esthetic appeal, at some times cubistic in design while delightfully decorative at others. The trees in the forest are particularly inventive; the waves spilling from the magic pumpkin suggest fabrics. This story is interesting to compare with other creation myths from many sources. 2005, Pinata Books/Arte Publico Press, $14.95. Ages 4 to 8.
Professional Recommendation/Review #2:
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, April 15, 2005 (Vol. 73, No. 8))
The island of Puerto Rico, originally called BoriquTn by its Taino inhabitants, was once, according to legend, a barren mountain. A child, looking for food, collected a pouch full of seeds and planted them at the top of the mountain, which then sprouted a forest. A vine in the forest grew a magnificent orange flower, from which emerged an enormous golden "globe that shone like the sun"-a pumpkin (calabaza). Unbeknownst to the people, this pumpkin contained the sea. When two men, fighting over the pumpkin, dropped it, it rolled down the mountain, where it burst open, releasing the sea and "whales, dolphins, crabs, and sunfish." The waters rose until they stopped at the edge of the magic forest, creating the island of BoriquTn. Beautifully and simply written, this little-known tale is a welcome addition to creation myths. Unfortunately, although Jaffe acknowledges help in ascertaining "historical and linguistic accuracy and detail," she includes no original source. The illustrations in luscious tropical colors, with shapes and patterns (especially spirals) reminiscent of pre-Columbian art, are perfect. 2005, Pi-ata Books/ArtT P blico, 32p, $14.95. Category: Picture book/folktale. Ages 5 to 10. © 2005 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.
Response to Two Professional Reviews:
I agree with the two professional reviews. I think this book was a very unique myth about the creation of an island in Puerto Rico. I agree with the second professional review that this story is very interesting, I have never read a book about creation and I thought this one was very well written. I thought the visuals portrayed the events in the text and the Indians very well. I think it would be interesting for students to read a book about creation to use their imagination and get ideas about some myths. I think the book could have better defined the beliefs and customs with the Taino Indians and I think both professional reviews touch upon that concept as well that the book lacks.
Evaluation of Literary Elements:
This text in this book was very descriptive and did a great job of describing some of the events and scenes that took place in this book. I thought the colors that the illustrator used were very colorful and fit the idea of an island and very well done. The plot of this story was very well thought out and included the creation of something huge like the ocean and described how this creation myth came about and the events that formed along with it. The theme stuck with the idea of creation. I think the book could have touched upon the Taino Indians more than it did.
Consideration of Instructional Approach:
This book can be an instructional approach to many different subjects to touch upon various different topics. This book can be used for an activity with younger children around the science subject, the students can plant their own seed and throughout the school year watch the different stages of the plant grow and use this as a science lesson. As the students are viewing the different stages of the plant then they can work together in groups and write their observations to hang around the room and write down what they think will happen to the plants cycle next like their predictions. This can be placed all throughout the classrooms and then the students can also write the similarities and differences they notice from their predictions.
October 11, 2018
I am shocked that i was able to go into my library on columbus day and find this on the shelf. What are you doing, local elementary school teachers?!
But that's not the books fault. It is a lovely little story with pleasant little illustrations of a creation story I didn't know before. In this one there is a dry world and the waters come out of a pumpkin; it would be perfect paired with a picture book version of one of the creations in which the world is an ocean and turtle swims to the bottom for some dirt with which to make earth.
But that's not the books fault. It is a lovely little story with pleasant little illustrations of a creation story I didn't know before. In this one there is a dry world and the waters come out of a pumpkin; it would be perfect paired with a picture book version of one of the creations in which the world is an ocean and turtle swims to the bottom for some dirt with which to make earth.
July 22, 2022
Here you will find the origin story of Boriquén. If you are Boricua, you will always have Boriquén in your heart.
I need to read more Taino stories. I do wish the author would have researched a bit more and not used words that we know the Taino would not have used prior to being conquered by the Spanish. One of the hardest parts of our history is realizing that so much of the Taino language has been lost. But also, realizing that the Spanish colonized so much of the Taino language, adding words to it's dictionary claiming it as Spanish when it's really a Taino word.
December 6, 2025
The Golden Flower is a beautifully illustrated Taino creation myth about mysterious seeds bringing life to Earth when they are planted by a young boy. I enjoy rereading this picture book to take in its illustrations and magical writing.
I would recommend this book for ages 4+, especially for application in an early elementary classroom as an introduction to books from cultures around the world.
I would recommend this book for ages 4+, especially for application in an early elementary classroom as an introduction to books from cultures around the world.
February 24, 2023
Normally in creation myths, the man comes last. However, in this Puerto Rican creation myth, we have the earth & the man & there is this little boy who initiates a series of events to get to the creation of water!
Really amazing & subversive!
By the way, I listened to this picturebook here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj_z3...
Really amazing & subversive!
By the way, I listened to this picturebook here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj_z3...
Want to read
December 30, 2019My cousin was back in PR this week and was reminded of the dilapidated state of the beautiful island still after Maria. This book puts me in mind of being able to imagine an island without struggle and frustration.
May 11, 2017
This could be a good storytime book for school aged children.
January 15, 2019
Beautiful pictures and nice read!
November 4, 2019
A fascinating folktale accompanied by colorful illustrations. Both my daughter and I liked this one.
October 12, 2020
Great
A good for teaching children the many stories of their people in a modern time. This is a great read.
A good for teaching children the many stories of their people in a modern time. This is a great read.
June 28, 2022
i didn't know this folktale <3 but how beautiful
September 16, 2022
There's no information on how the myth in this book was collected and interpreted within the pages. The language is smooth flowing and the pictures engaging.
January 7, 2023
A beautiful story for children. It's enjoyable and I read it to my grandchildren.
September 11, 2023
Wow! What a fantastic story. The artwork is simply divine. A wonderful perspective on how an island came to be. So lovely! Highly recommend.
August 1, 2024
I loved it.
December 12, 2024
This combines a creation story with a flood story to tell of the creation of Puerto Rico, but a child planting seeds he collected is a big part of it too, so works well with conservation.
April 21, 2019
“The Golden Flower: A Taino Myth from Puerto Rico” is a picture book that falls under the Folklore genre. I would most likely use this book in a 3rd grade classroom (or K-2), because I believe that the students’ interest level for it would be highest at this age. This book tells a mythical story from a particular culture (Taino) of Puerto Rico. The golden flower proves to have an important yet surprising purpose to this culture. This is a WOW book for me because it taught me about a culture that I was largely unfamiliar with. Although this book includes just one perspective of a big culture, I feel like it does an effective job of conveying this perspective! I really enjoyed reading this book and I think the beautiful illustrations enhanced the story.
One idea I have for using this text in my future classroom is to use it to introduce my students to a new culture. Depending on where I teach, my students may or may not come from diverse backgrounds. Regardless if they do or not, it is important for all students to learn about different cultures. After reading this book aloud to my students, I would hold a class discussion about what my students noticed and wondered about the culture and the story. Then, they can compare what they noticed and wondered about with what they know about their own or another culture. This comparing and contrasting is one way for students to make connections with what they are reading and their prior knowledge. Another idea I have for using this text in my future classroom is to read it aloud during National Hispanic Heritage Month. This specific month is meant for an increased focus and awareness on the cultures of Hispanics. Reading this text, along with other related complex texts, to my students during this time would contribute to their understanding of the several components of Hispanic culture. I could also use this text to help my students practice comprehension strategies- such as "Visualizing".
One idea I have for using this text in my future classroom is to use it to introduce my students to a new culture. Depending on where I teach, my students may or may not come from diverse backgrounds. Regardless if they do or not, it is important for all students to learn about different cultures. After reading this book aloud to my students, I would hold a class discussion about what my students noticed and wondered about the culture and the story. Then, they can compare what they noticed and wondered about with what they know about their own or another culture. This comparing and contrasting is one way for students to make connections with what they are reading and their prior knowledge. Another idea I have for using this text in my future classroom is to read it aloud during National Hispanic Heritage Month. This specific month is meant for an increased focus and awareness on the cultures of Hispanics. Reading this text, along with other related complex texts, to my students during this time would contribute to their understanding of the several components of Hispanic culture. I could also use this text to help my students practice comprehension strategies- such as "Visualizing".
February 22, 2015
This story was about Puerto Rico culture. There was no water or life on the land they lived. Until a boy planted seeds he had gathered and made a wonderful plant life on top of the mountain. Soon there was a plant growing that know one knew what it was. It was called the golden flower. People fought over it and soon it fell off the mountain and broke between two rocks. It was a pumpkin hiding the sea and animals that live in it. This story talks about their culture and how they can now have fresh water to drink and eat the fish from the sea. This can be for ages 5-8. This can work in the classroom and talk about how we take things for granted like having fresh water everyday. Talk about how we have many things like fresh water and school that some countries do not have. Then you can have them write on a piece of paper what they are grateful for and why. Then draw a picture of it.
January 26, 2010
The story is retold by Nina Jaffe and won the Pura Belpre Honor Book Award in 1998. Illustrated by Enrique O. Sanchez, Originally published in 1996 by simon & Schuster. The interestlevel for this picture book would be grades K-2, since the pictures are large and colorful. the story tells a myth that explains the origin of the sea, the forest and the island now called Puerto Rico. I would use this book when studying myths and folktales. Students of Puerto Rican heritage may find it interesting since it tells of how the island came to be.
October 12, 2012
We read this book last Friday at the Spanish Club group I go to at the library. It sounds amazing read aloud in Spanish! The only part of the book that seemed a little bit unusual for a children's book was the part where the two Tainos become greedy and fight over the "flor de oro" - still there is a happy ending at the finish. I took it home and read it a few times more before the next meeting. :)
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