What quality do you most admire in her and why?ĭonna: Well, there are two, but because they intertwine in a way, can I count them as one? The first quality is her tenacity. Kathie: I really loved Petra’s loyalty, and the way she cared about those around her. I sense those feelings of humor, fear, tension and love I had in those moments. To this day, I add cinnamon to coffee and hot chocolate and feel like I’m back by a fire and my grandmother’s knees crack as she settles in to tell me a story. She might give me a cup of hot chocolate with cinnamon beforehand.
That was something I couldn’t always get with the written word. She could add sadness or humor to her tales with one look. She could add a layer of tension with a quick jump. I could see my grandmother’s facial expressions. I think of my own experience as a child and how important sensory detail is. The storyteller can impart parts of their own personality or life experience, so it has the element of something more personal. A teacher, a parent, a grandparent…so there is an added layer of trust compared to what we may read in a book. Why do you think oral storytelling is so important and leaves such a strong impression on children?’ĭonna: In the oral tradition of storytelling, these tales are normally told to us by someone we trust. Kathie: This book is based on the Mexican folklore that your grandmother shared with you. But along the way a sinister collective of those monitoring the passengers begins to “purge” adults and erase the memories of the remaining children in hopes of starting over with none of Earth’s past mistakes or history to hinder their new plan.īut during this 370-year journey, when all the other children are reprogrammed, Petra’s defective download makes her alone the hidden bringer of Earth’s now forbidden stories and her grandmother’s Mexican folklore to a changing humanity.
Petra hopes she can possess all of Earth’s folklore, mythology, and stories in her mind by the time they arrive to the new planet.
Just her luck, the one upside to the journey that will take hundreds of years, will be a download of information. Petra wants nothing more than to be a storyteller like her grandmother. Can you tell us a little bit about it, please?ĭonna: This book is about a girl named Petra Peña who is leaving for a new planet with her scientist parents as a comet approaches threatening to destroy Earth. Kathie: Hi Donna, thank you so much for joining me at MG Book Village today to talk about your new book, The Last Cuentista, which was released yesterday by Levine Querido.
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