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Efrain of the Sonoran Desert: A Lizard's Life Among the Seri Indians
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Product Description
"The very first thing that you see when you reach the beach and leave your boat behind in the shallows of the Sea of Cortez is a lizard running away from the water. It curls its tail high so the waves won't get it wet." That's what Gary Nabhan remembers about his first visit to the Seri village in Kino Bay. There he met storyteller Amalia Astorga. She tells him the bittersweet history of Efrain, a sun-blotched lizard. In so doing, she helps him to understand how the Seris have protected a species that everywhere else is endangered. Together Amalia and Gary give young readers an insight into the life and culture of the Seris, an endangered people themselves, but a people who know how to love their land and its inhabitants.
Amalia Astorga is a Seri Elder. She lives with her tribe in Desemboque, Sonora in Mexico. She is preserving the herbal knowledge of the Seri hunting-gathering community, as well as songs and stories about native animals.
Since 1975, Gary Paul Nabhan has roamed the ancient cactus forests, mesquite grasslands and hidden oases of the Sonoran Desert. His original scholarship integrates conservation biology, agroecology, ethnonutrititon and applied anthropology in unique and unforeseen ways. A co-founder of Native Seeds/SEARCH, he is the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, a Pew Scholarship on Conservation and the Environment, the Premio Gaia, and the John Burroughs Medal for natural history writing. He lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.
Marketing Plans:
o Author tour in the Southwest to include Tucson, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Santa Fe and El Paso.
o Postcards
Janet K. Miller, a self-taught artist, makes her home in Tucson, Arizona. She lived and worked in West Africa during most of the 1980s, and started painting in 1993. She does reverse glass painting, painting inside out and backwards on the wrong side of clear glass. The original paintings for Efraín are all done using this technique.
Product Details
- Published on: 2001-10-01
- Original language: English
- Binding: Hardcover
- 40 pages
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Efrain of the Sonoran Desert: A Lizard's Life Among the Seri Indians by Amalia Astorga, Seri Indian Elder, as told to Gary Paul Nabhan, illus. by Janet K. Miller, recounts Nabhan's curiosity about how a lizard could thrive in lands where the Seri live but be considered endangered outside of that territory. A Seri elder explains the conundrum by way of the fable of Efrain, a sand-dwelling lizard. Naef, folk-art style paintings capture the azure hues of the Sea of Cortez and the rich patterns and textures of Seri fabrics.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Gr 3-5-The zebra-tailed lizard is becoming extinct except in those areas of Baja California populated by a small tribe of Seri Indians. Nabhan, a naturalist and environmentalist, returned to Seri lands to ask the people how they kept these animals alive. The story in this book is the answer, provided by a Seri elder. A special lizard named Efra'n became a friend of the Astorga family. He showed up regularly to be fed and, it seemed, to socialize. When he was killed by wild dogs, the entire family mourned his passing. The book closes with information on the Seri tribe, their methods of cultural transmission and survival in a harsh environment, and their worldview. Less a picture book than a brief ethnographic study with a story imbedded in it, this is an excellent tool for beginning discussions on a number of topics, from cultural values to environmentalism. Miller's illustrations are extraordinary. Created using a technique called reverse glass painting, the pictures are precise and clear, with blocks of vivid color and finely delineated forms. The primitive look, reminiscent of Carmen Lomas Garza's work, enhances the primary-source feeling of the text. This is not a book students will pick up on their own, but given its value both as story and as information, it merits sharing.
Ann Welton, Grant Elementary School, Tacoma, WA
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 2-6. Many of the lizards along the Gulf of California coast are endangered but thrive when they live among the Seri Indians. Puzzled by this mystery, conservationist Nabhan interviewed the Seri, and herbalist and storyteller Astorga told him about Efrain, a lizard who was her "special friend," giving insight, if not exactly reasons, about why the lizards thrive. In the final pages, Nabhan explains that the Seri themselves are endangered and outlines the steps they are taking to preserve their culture and language. Presented from a conservationist's viewpoint, the cultural background is informative and insightful. Unfortunately for libraries, some information and the single map appear only on the inside of the dust jacket. Executed in a "reverse glass painting" technique, the vibrant illustrations reflect the colors of the Sonoran Desert but do not always follow the narrative closely. Minor quibbles aside, this rare glimpse of Seri culture will enrich Native American and environmental curricula and collections. Linda Perkins
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