Los Ojos Del Tejedor: The Eyes of the Weaver

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Weaving of Story , Culture, and Family History
Review: "Los Ojos del Tejedor: The Eyes of the Weaver" is a wonderful regional story based on the author's youth. She is a descendent of the Ortega family of Chimayo. The Ortega family has been weaving in the small, rural community of Chimayo for more than eight generations and the quality of their rugs and blankets is well known. They own a store in Chimayo and in several other locations where their Hispanic style rugs and blankets are sold in many sizes. Chimayo is a mountain community north of Santa Fe best known for the Santuario de Chimayo, an old adobe church pilgrims flock to for its miracles of healing and tourists visit as a fine, historical example of New Mexico adobe churches.

This book beautifully describes Hispanic traditions and the importance of teaching the children these skills. Ten year old Cristina loves going to her grandparents' house, but she is particularly nervous about this trip. She knows that she is going to spend a week there to learn how to weave and is filled with anxiety over weaving as well as her grandfather, and she doesn't speak Spanish as well as she'd like. Her mother suggests that her cousin, who speaks better Spanish, should join her and their grandparents, and that makes Cristina feel more confident about her visit.

This delightful book moves beyond learning to weave on the loom. Cristina weaves in her own memories of Hispanic culture through other activities during this visit. Spanish words and phrases are sprinkled as regional seasoning, adding depth to the flavor of her story. A glossary of these words is found at the back to help non-Spanish speakers navigate their way through this book. Phrases are translated in the text of the book. In addition to stumbling with her grandfather's Spanish, she also picks regional vegetables from the garden and cooks traditional New Mexican foods, which also contributes to the fullness of the text.

The illustrations add a lot to the text. They are done in a "painterly" syle common among the works of the early Taos painters, supporting both the regional and historic feel of this book. The book does a beautiful and complete job of representing the New Mexico Hispanic culture and is a must for anyone who wants to learn more about this subject. But in addition to the social studies lesson, this book is about families and how they relate to one another. It is a personal story about a child's belonging to her family and rising up to their expectations with love and compassion.