COMMENDED LIST: Erandi's Braids
Staff -- School Library Journal, 8/1/2000
COMMENDED LIST
MADRIGAL, Antonio Hernández.
Erandi's Braids.
illus. by Tomie dePaola.
Putnam. PLB $15.99. ISBN 0-399-23212-5.
In the tradition of many Tarascan women in Michoacán, Mexico, young Erandi and her mother take pride in their long, thick hair, refusing to sell it when representatives from the cosmetic industry come to their small town, offering the women money. However, financial hardship ultimately leads Erandi to make a great sacrifice and sell her beautiful braids so her family can buy a new fishing net. DePaola's soft, brightly colored paintings aptly illustrate the mid-20th-century village in which the story takes place. (Gr 2-5)
