Blancaflor, The Hero with Secret Powers: A Folktale from Latin America

by Nadja Spiegelman, Sergio García Sánchez (Illustrator), F. Isabel Campoy (Introduction)

A Junior Library Guild Selection

A damsel to the rescue! Raised by a mean ogre of a father who eats his opponents for dinner, Blancaflor is often told not to show off her own considerable powers for fear of scaring off suitors. When a prince falls from the sky and wakes up in her lap, she is spellbound and moves heaven and earth to help the endearing, yet not so clever, young man, all while trying not to let him know. With their trademark magnificent brio, Nadja Spiegelman and Sergio García Sánchez update a classic tale extolling the strength and resourcefulness of women.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Fiction, Fantasy, Magic, Romance, Folklore

52 pages, Paperback

First published September 14, 2021

About the author

Nadja Spiegelman is the Eisner-award nominated author of the ZIG AND WIKKI graphic series for young children and LOST IN NYC: A SUBWAY ADVENTURE. Her forthcoming memoir, "I'm Supposed to Protect You from All This," will be published by Riverhead Books in August 2016. She currently divides her time between Paris and Brooklyn.

Reviews

[Milton Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blancaflor is a timeless folktale that everyone would benefit from reading. Blancaflor possesses many powerful magical powers. Blancaflor's father, a hungry ogre who eats others for fun, continually tells her to hide her powers so that she may attract a husband. When a perfect suitor comes along, Blancaflor hides her powers while also using them to save him from her father.

When has a father telling his daughter to hide her powerful magic ever worked out? I loved this story for the sheer fact that Blancaflor is the heroine of this story is magic. Little girls need this type of story in their lives today. This was a new folktale to me and I loved it's twists and turns. It is a great supplement to anyone studying or interested in Latin American history. The tale is told simply and the illustrations are vivid. Definitely recommend!

Find it today: https://ent.sharelibraries.info/clien...

Ashley C. / Milton Public Library #CheckOutMPL

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would have LOVED this as a kid. The supplementary material makes me LOVE this as a kid-lit professional. Highly recommended.

[Lexi · Rating 1 out of 5]

The message in this was terrible. I really though it was satire, or going to turn a corner, but nope. The princess married the stupid beautiful prince bc he was beautiful 🙃

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can’t think of a folklore or fairytale like this Latin American one in the United States culture, but apparently it appears in many other cultures.

Blancaflora seems like a sensible young woman but she still is smitten with the prince, who is an absolutely clueless airhead. I suppose he came around in the end. But the story does a nice job of focusing on Blancaflora.

The illustrations are fun and a beautiful way to tell this story.

[Jesse · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a new story to me, and I very much enjoyed it, but even more so I was enthralled with the forward and back matter putting it into context. Fairy tales have always fascinated me!

[LeslecturesdeMylene · Rating 4 out of 5]

15/20 - https://www.leslecturesdemylene.com/2...

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story with comic artwork.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should have a fairy tales shelf on Goodreads, but I don’t. And actually, I don’t really read many fairy tales. I love the way Blancaflor is framed and explained before and after the exciting storytelling and beautiful art.

[tony dillard jr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've got a book for those young ones who are fans of Encanto! Most stories starring a prince have a damsel in distress. This time it's the young lady to the rescue! From Latin American folklore, I am pleased to present to you Blancaflor!

Blancaflor is the daughter of an ogre. This ogre has plans for having a prince for dinner. But not as a guest. As the meal!

The ogre's plan is to have the prince attempt 3 challenges. Challenges that are quite impossible to complete. For the past few months, the ogre blessed the prince with a good luck spell. Now that spell has worn off. The prince doesn't know this and still thinks he'll be lucky enough to beat the ogre in order to win a major prize! Looks like filet of prince will be on the menu!

Well it turns out that Blancflor is smitten with this prince. In order to not hurt his pride, she will secretly help the prince complete his three challenges. But the prince isn't gonna make this easy. He's a real dimwit!

This amazing graphic novel was written by Nadja Spiegelman. Nadja is the daughter of Art Spiegelman and Francoise Mouly, both characters in and creators of Maus II! It was just happenstance that I am reading works from the entire Spiegelman family this week!

I was also digging the artwork. It's by acclaimed Spanish experimental cartoonist Sergio Garcia Sanchez. It's a lovely mix native Mexican and European influences throughout. His double-page spreads are lively and fluid. There's so much movement despite not being part of an animated feature. Blancaflor is a family affair for Sergio Garcia Sanchez. His wife Lola Moral colored this book. And in a extra feature in the back of the book, Sergio and Lola's children, who are both professional artists, contributed stylized versions of the Blancaflor cast of characters.

This isn't my first experience with Nadja Spiegelman or Sergio Garcia Sanchez. They were the creative duo behind another Family Comic Friday classic, the labyrinthine Lost in NYC. This is also not my first experience with publisher Toon Graphics. They continue to kill it with their multicultural stories by some amazing and somewhat legendary talent. And from the list of other titles available from Toon Graphics, it looks like I won't be out of an assortment of amazing titles for weeks to come.

Now if only my local library has these books.

I mentioned Encanto earlier. I know that this book has zero connection to that film. This is a Mexican fairy tale. Encanto is based on Colombian lore and history. But if the young reader in your life is a big fan of that film and you're looking for similar works that could piggyback on that interest, this is a great family fun read! It can help spread interest in Latino culture and it promotes reading from a female heroine perspective which is rare in American/European folk lore; but a mainstay in Latin American storytelling.

I can't recommend Blancaflor enough! It's a quick but satisfying whimsical read that doesn't follow the stand rules of prince and princess fairy tales! We might not be allowed to talk about Bruno. But Blancaflor is going to be forever on my lips as a suggestion for great family read!

[Mal the Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning this review may contain spoilers

This book was cute. A girl named Blancaflor lives in a castle with her two sisters, her witch mom, and her ogre dad. The prince was in the paper and all three sisters wanted to marry the prince. The ogre told his daughters that the prince will be coming over to play a game that nobody can win called The Ogre's Three. The ogre made the prince lucky in previous horse racing games so he wanted to bring the prince to his castle to play the unwinnable game. If the prince succeeds he gets to marry one of the ogre's daughters, but if he fails the ogre will eat him, but the prince doesn't know that. So the prince goes to do the ogre's first task, he must make the mountains and the lake swap places. Luckily Blancaflor is there because she knows the prince can not do the task so she does it for him while the prince reads a book on how to move mountains(oops forgot to say she has powers). Blancaflor's dad is suspicious. The prince's second task is to turn a mountain of rocks into a loaf of bread. The prince knocks himself out with a rock so while he is knocked out Blancaflor makes the rocks a loaf of bread. The prince smells the bread and thinks the bread made itself. The ogre is even more suspicious. The prince's third and final task is to get the ogre's mothers' ring that is at the bottom of the ocean. so the prince can not swim, but he thinks he can, but before he can get in the water Blancaflor stops him and tells him to play her grandma's favorite song and the ring will come to him. He played the song and while he did Blancaflor went and got the ring from the bottom of the ocean. She came back up and the ring was in the prince's hand. The ogre was very mad that the prince won the unwinnable game. Blancaflor got sent to her room and the prince got sent home. The prince went to Blancaflor's window and she told him that her dad was going to kill them both. So Blancaflor told the prince to go get the old horse, but he grabs the wrong horse. While the prince got the horse Blancaflor got her magic comb, mirror, and soap. Then the prince came back and off they went. Her dad and mom found out so they took the old horse and chased after Blancaflor and the prince. Blancaflor throws her soap to make mountains, her mirror to make a lake, and her comb to make a forest and the prince thought it was all luck. They got away from Blancaflor's parents, but then her mom cast a spell on the prince. They arrive at the prince's castle and the prince's parents greet them. The prince saw another lady and forgot all about Blancaflor because of her mom's spell. The prince then picks his wife by random and its an old lady it looks like. The king said to pick a gift for the wedding and Blancaflor said the Sword of Pain and the Stone of Power. She asks the stone if it was not her who did everything for the prince and the stone says, "Yes, but you should have told him." The prince was listening and he remembered her. So they got married and lived happily ever after.

[Stephanie Tournas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blancaflor, like many of us, has an ogre of a father, a more understanding witchy mother, and annoying siblings. And she’s bored with life. A handsome prince shows up after her father plans to entrap him in an unwinnable game, “The Ogre’s Three” / “Las tres del ogro.” Blancaflor enthusiastically, and secretly, helps him escape. The prince, who is hapless and completely ignorant of all the ways she helps him defeat the ogre’s traps, thinks it is he who manages the escape. Folktale fans will recognize Blancaflor’s tools – special powers, plus soap, a mirror and a comb. All along, the reader will feel the frustration that Blancaflor has suppressed, which is that all of her labor and forethought goes unrecognized by her beloved. Finally, when she has given up on the prince ever returning her love or seeing her for the amazing person that she is, she decides to do away with herself in a dramatic gesture of plunging a knife into her breast. It is then that the prince realizes her feats, and they are married.

The story hovers on the edge of just too much self-centered male junk, but astute readers will recognize a person in love who is willing to give their all, and is finally ‘seen’ by the end. I like the commentary which contextualizes the concept of women’s invisible labor, and gives background on the tale. The art is gorgeous! From the Aztec and Maya pictograms on the opening pages to the wonderful graphic art anchored in blue and brown, with Blancaflor in orange, this is a visually beautiful tale. The text and art work wonderfully together to tell an ancient tale with relatable sensibilities. And some of the spreads are full of such wonderful details.

The Spanish edition is a faithful and spirited version.

[B. Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoiler Free Summary
The story focuses on Blancaflor in a retold version of a latin folktale. Blancaflor embarks on a journey to rescue her mother that was kidnapped by a powerful foe, the Snake King. She has secret powers that she learns to wield during journey. With the support of her friends she makes along the way, she is able to overcome obstacles, that attempt to stop her. Blancaflors determination and courage showcase that she gets stronger during the journey so that she can hopefully defeat the Snake King and rescue her mother. The story ends affirming that courage and kindness can prevail even in the face of adversity (ChatGPT, October 26, 2024).

Commentary
The story centers itself on themes of empowerment and courage. Blancaflor discovers herself in the book as a hero at the end, rescuing her mother from the Snake King. She had one thing she knew she had to do: save her mother. While fighting monsters and overcoming obstacles along the way, she shows resilience in her quest. Like most people as they grown, you find out more about yourself everyday and grow stronger and wiser. I believe this story is good motivation for students to see that persevering through difficult obstacles in ones life will bring about an expected outcome that one desires.

Applications
Students will be tasked with stating what heroism is and what it means. Then students will create their own visual art to either draw their favorite scene from the story or create their own to represent what being a hero means to themself. They will share this with the class. Ex A hero is someone who gets back up no matter how many times they are knocked down and perseveres under the hardest circumstances.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's wonderful to find a folktale with a strong female protagonist at its heart. In this one, told in a graphic novel format, Blancaflor isn't like her two sisters who dream of marrying a handsome prince and appealing to him with their fashion sense or sweet, docile personalities. When a prince arrives to play the Ogre's Three with the girls' father, an ogre who plans to trick the young man, Blancaflor hides her magical talents and assists him with the three tasks her father sets before the prince. The prince at first has no idea that he owes his life to Blancaflor; instead, he thinks he's lucky. Even though he plans to marry her, he still has her mother's curse to get through, and for awhile it looks as though the prince has completely forgotten her. Once he remembers, he still considers himself the luckiest man in the world since his bride is so extraordinary. The colorful panels and the personality of Blancaflor makes this one well worth reading and thinking about. I for one am always delighted to read stories in which females do the rescuing rather than waiting for someone to rescue them.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wicked ogre has made a deluded young Prince think he's the luckiest person on the planet, with the intention of cheating him out of his whole kingdom with some impossible tasks. But the ogre hasn't factored in the guile of his daughter, Blancaflor, and her incredible powers of magic. It's an unusual balance, what we get here – the girl is definitely not the soppy fairy-tale girl, but in being independent, and in making sure justice rules and not her evil father, she does end up with the routine fairy-tale ending. So it's a bit of a stretch to see this as anything radical, however much agency she is given. Visually we're in a slightly unusual world, too, with simple colouring and ligne claire lines, but with so much more of the dynamism, the swoop and the kinetic action. All told, a nice little comic, presenting a welcome look at Latin and Southern American legend, but not quite as earth-shattering as it might have hoped. Three and a half stars.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The combination of art and story is superb.

The context of the folktale is shared at the beginning and more context at the end of the graphic folktale in which Blancaflor who has an ogre for a father trying to trick a prince and instead wins his heart with her helpfulness, cunning, and skill. Ultimately, it details you can find a story like Blancaflor in most Native, Maya, and other cultures as well-- one in which women are an 'invisible' force to be reckoned with since their work often goes unnoticed. Yet, they are powerful and strong and demonstrate that.

In addition, which you can even see on the cover, the oversized lengthy features of the characters, the setting, and magical creativity in the illustrations are beautiful just to look at independent of the story though clearly work hand-in-hand too.

[Desiree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blanaflor, a retelling of a Latin American folktale, was an intriguing story of prince who is saved by a girl with magical powers. Apparently, there are different versions across Latin America. If it was specified which country or region this version came from, I missed it.

Towards the end, Blanaflor is seen about to commit suicide before she is stopped by the prince. This could be disturbing to some students, but is no less graphic than the Grimm fairytales. I would recommend this book more for my older students.

I will order this book for my library because I am always searching for folktales from around the world. The graphic novel format makes it even more appealing.

Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing look at the way women's work is invisible. Blancaflor basically rescues this lucky-turned-unlucky prince over and over again. Prince does not see her rescuing him, and just continues to think himself incredibly lucky, until he is hit with a curse that cause him to completely forget Blancaflor. After some dramatics, Prince is informed of Blancaflor's actions and things turn out right, but it truly is an interesting combination of folktale, fable, adventure story, with just a pinch of romance, and then a big whammy of hey, this is what invisible work looks like.

Backmatter is lovely.

[Rob McMonigal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A family of ogres enjoys torturing the nearby humans by giving them abilities, taking them away, and then eating them for supper. It's a time-honored tradition that's about to happen again with a young prince who thinks he's unstoppably lucky. When one of the ogre's daughters gets sick of her father's boasts and takes a shining to the prince, she's going to use ever power she has to save him. There's only one problem: Just like many other women, the prince doesn't even notice her help! It's a great, layered story with echoes in other traditions, adapted with long, flowing lines by Garcia Sanchez and bright colors by his spouse Moral.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Blancaflor, the Hero with Secret Powers: A Folktale from Latin America' by Nadja Spiegelman with art by Sergio Garcia Sanchez is a graphic novel of a classic fairytale from Latin America.

Blancaflor has an ogre for a dad, so when a handsome prince challenges him, Blancaflor knows that her dad won't fight fair. The prince claims he has luck, but he is just lucky that he met Blancaflor.

Blancaflor's magic objects are the objects of women's work in indigenous cultures. I loved reading about her and the art is really fun. Recommended for young readers and older ones who still like fairytales (like me).

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was looking for ghost stories for kids from various cultures and this middle grades version of a well-known fairy tale (and not a ghost story) invited me to pick it up because of its swirling cover. Sure, she marries the prince, okay, but as author Nadja Spiegelman explains, she begins the story from the girl's perspective and reveals she is powerful, with multiple powers. And contemporary dialogue and sensibilities. The attractions here are turning the focus to Blanaflor, the afterwords from the author and F. Isabel Campy, and a bibliography for further reading, but especially the swirling fantasy artwork from Sergio Garcia Sanchez. That was the highlight for me.

[Suspiros Bea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

I enjoyed this story as it focus on the spanish culture and folk tales, however I think it would be best if the story had a bit more dialogue or maybe a narrator. I just think that it was everything too fast. For a children book, I think it would be perfect, because it is not too long and it's a great story to read before bed time.
I am quite impressed with the illustrations, because they are very delicate and the colours are soft, but expressive.

[Iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome graphic novel retelling of a folktale that has versions in many different parts of the world. This is based on the Latin American story of the daughter of an ogre who falls in love with a prince that her father has vowed to trick into giving up his kingdom (and getting eaten). Blancaflor uses her special powers to help the prince triumph over her father's schemes. This modern retelling also adds another element to the story. In the original folktale, Blancaflor is always told not to show off. In this version, she learns to take credit for her accomplishments.

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blancaflor is a daughter of an ogre who becomes obsessed with a prince her father intends to eat for dinner. Blancaflor helps the prince beat the Ogre at his games and then saves them both when they flee to the prince’s kingdom, all without the prince ever realizing he’s not quite the hero he believes himself to be. This is a spirited graphic novel about a girl who takes charge and ultimately sees the power in taking credit, too. The book includes background information on Latin American folk and fairy tales, and it is also available in Spanish.

[Wina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic novel folk/fairy tale for ages 8-12, this could be read to/by a younger child. It took me 20 minutes to read the whole thing, including the introduction, author's note, etc. There is interesting information at the beginning and the end about tales, and the cultures that mixed to produce this one. I really got a kick out of the "personality" of the story, and illustrations (which include some cool Maya and Aztec pictograms in the intro). The story itself is a girl-power tale with a happy ending. I really enjoyed the whole experience.

[Lucie · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai beaucoup aimé cette bande-dessinée, pour son graphisme d'abord, pour son histoire racontée avec humour ensuite, et enfin pour sa préface et sa postface qui permettent d'en apprendre plus sur les origines sud-américaines de ce conte et sur la vision féministe de l'autrice.

La conclusion de Nadja Spiegelmann me laisse cependant dubitative. A la fin, Blancaflor réussit-elle vraiment à échapper au patriarcat ? Certes, elle a fui son père, mais c'est pour finir par épouser le prince idiot... bon, au moins il est charmant ! 😭

[Katie (BooksRUs) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to Edelweiss+ for an advanced copy. I think the concept of the story is interesting. I don't read a lot of fairytales/folktales from Latin America, so it was a plus in that regard. We honestly need more Latin America fairytales/folktales in mainstream media in the states. However, I think I would have preferred the story as a picture book or middle grade. The format was the catching thing for me.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun updated, graphic version of a classic folktale. This is a step up from Disney's sanitized versions of stories, as Blancflor is shown preparing to commit suicide, so it could be a bit much for some younger readers. Of course, all's well that ends well, with Blancaflor shown as a strong woman who is well-appreciated by her prince. I loved that Spiegelman included extensive background material but it's not essential for readers' enjoyment of the tale.

[Natasha]

Sadly, this book has a lot going for it, with gorgeous illustrations and paneling, lots of visual and textual humor that is actually amusing, and a sweet , adventurous story. Unfortunately I was pulled out of the story by the inclusion of the "eeny-meeny" rhyme which I know has racist roots. I'd be concerned about handing this to a kiddo who might know about that rhyme or might repeat the rhyme unknowingly.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is using your powers showing off? If so, should you tell the Prince when you help him or not?

She and her sisters start lusting after the Prince from his picture. Not sure he ever does anything to make them like him (although sharing his food on the way there is good; the girls don't see that, though).

He reminds me of the dumb prince in Blackadder, actually, although once he learns that she helped him he does decide to marry her.

[Goto Van Kern · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super adaptation d'un conte sud américain en BD, des dessins hyper cool qui jouent avec les proportions des personnages, des couleurs ✨, un humour qui fait mouche et une morale basée qui fera dire aux enfants "cringe un peu le prince charmant non ?" (même si à la fin ils finissent ensemble, au moins y a une dynamique intéressante dans l'évolution de leur relation, ce qui est rare dans un conte)

MAIS VOILÀ, MÉTAPHORE DU PRIVILÈGE DANS LA SOCIÉTÉ PATRIARCALE