Starfields

Gr 4–6—Rosalba is living an ordinary life for a nine-year-old Mayan girl in rural Mexico until she makes a new friend who dramatically changes her life in Carolyn Marsden's novel (Candlewick, 2011). She starts to think beyond her traditional Mayan life of weaving stories onto blouses and taking care of her home and begins to ponder changes to her environment and, possibly, the world. Rosalba's friend tells her that the Mayan calendar indicates that the world will end in 2012. Also, there's a new road through the forest to her village that will endanger the environment and cause pollution. In addition to the main story, there is a dream sequence concerning an ancient Mayan boy who tells Rosalba how she can help stop the destruction. As a result of the two stories, the novel moves along very slowly and there is little character development. Adriana Sananes voices Rosalaba in a sweet, naïve voice, while Janjiy Jhaven presents the boy's participation in ancient Mayan shamanistic rituals using a deep, serious tone. The two perspectives create an unusual flow that makes it seem like there are two separate stories. Listeners will have a hard time staying with this tale of a traditional way of life faced with modern development.—Katie Llera, Milltown Public Library, Milltown, NJ