THE BRAVEST FLUTE
A Story of Courage in the Mayan Tradition
by Ann Grifalconi & illustrated by Ann Grifalconi
On New Year's Day, a little Mayan boy is charged with the duties of playing the flute and carrying a drum on his back while leading the people of his village in a parade into town. It is a long journey through a hot sun, and the boy isn't sure he can make it. At length he does, inspired by the coins he will earn to buy food for his poverty-stricken family, who have only a single clay pot of corn gruel left and have been forced to eat seeds that should have been planted. The story is devoid of humor, just as the boy himself is devoid of a single distinguishing mark of personality outside of a relentless — and relentlessly earnest — courage. Still, Grifalconi's (Kinda Blue, 1993, etc.) details of this special Mayan day are interesting, especially the careful descriptions of the myriad different ways corn is used, and children will learn something about the impoverished yet enduringly artistic Mayan culture. A conventional but informative story accompanied by dreamlike, pastel-colored illustrations. (Fiction/Picture book. 4-8)