Zunzuncito: Un Cuento del Pájaro Abeja Cubano

Description

Zunzuncito: Un Cuento del Pájaro Abeja Cubano by Silvia López, is an original story written in the form of a ‘pourquoi’ tale about how the Bee Hummingbird, the smallest bird in the world and found only in Cuba, came to be of that size and acquire its beautiful colors. In the dawn of time, a small bird is disappointed that its dull grey feathers are nothing like the beautiful colors of its island home. When it spots Toa, Mother-of-All-Things, washing her pots and brushes after having painted everything on the island, the bird comes up with a clever solution to its problem. The book, written and narrated by the author, is in eBook format. Both the Spanish and English versions may be accessed free of charge through Silvia Lopez’ website www.talesandcuentos.com. Lushly tropical illustrations with a Taíno flavor by talented Miami artist Verónica Cabrera bring this sweet story to life.

About the Author:
Silvia López; Illustrated by Verónica Cabrera

I was born in Cuba, one of thousands of refugees who left the island in 1960 and settled in Miami. After spending all my professional life as school librarian, I began my second career as children’s author in 2014 when I had the good fortune to sign with Red Fox Literary Agency, which sold two of my books now scheduled for publication in 2018. My first bilingual book, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: First Hispanic Woman in Congress, was published through CreateSpace in 2016. Also that year I decided to self-publish Zunzuncito, the first story I ever wrote, as a gift to the hundreds of children who had sat at my feet and listened to my storytelling for so many years. Rather than publish it in print, I taught myself how to work a digital format and turned it into an eBook with illustrations by gifted Miami artist Verónica Cabrera. I constantly run into former students, many now with families of their own, from the schools where I served. None mention the Dewey Decimal System, the lessons on the encyclopedia or the online catalog. What they still remember, they say, is my storytelling. That is the greatest compliment I could ever hope for.