Taino: The Activity Book - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Edwin Fontanez, artist, author, and film maker is a graduate of the School of Plastic Arts of the Puerto Rico Institute of Culture in San Juan and Pratt Institute in New York. Through a grant from the Washington, D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities in conjunction with the Institute for Puerto Rican Arts and Culture, Fontanez designed and presented a series of cultural awareness and art workshops for children in the D.C. Public Schools. The success of these workshops led him to extend them to the community at large through venues such as the Smithsonian Institution, the Santa Fe Children's Museum, the Capital Children's Museum, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Washington Very Special Arts. Fontanez founded his own company, Exit Studio, in 1994 to produce materials for children that explore cultural diversity and foster understanding through creativity. Exit Studio has published successful books and videos about Puerto Rican culture, both past and present. Fontanez's work continues to be closely linked to the community, for which he was nominated for a Mayor's Arts Award in 1994. His services to the community have been recognized via articles in The Washington Post, Latina magazine, The San Juan Star, and The Journal, to name a few. Fontanez is currently completing work on "Heart of the Imaginero," an ambitious project about Puerto Rico's heritage of saint carvers. Fontanez continues to be an enterprising leader, creating unique stories with an original point of view--after all, his "children's stories" are for children of all ages to enjoy.

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This beautiful and insightful activity book offers a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the native people of Puerto Rico, the Tanos. Through the adventures of Guann and his parrot Tahite you'll discover the magic of this tropical paradise as it was before the Encounter. This fascinating activity book contains pictures to color, puzzles to solve, and games to play as well as a Tano glossary and historical notes for parents and teachers.

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Who were the Tanos? Where did they come from? What does "Tano" mean? These are some of the questions I'm sure you are asking yourself as you open this book. Here are some answers that will get you started as you meet the Tanos!

The word "Tano" (tie-EE-noh) means "good and noble people." It is a word from the Arawak language. Arawak was also the name for the natives that lived before the 17th century throughout the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas). The Tanos are a "family" of the Arawaks.

These people, who you will learn more about in this book, lived in Puerto Rico more than 500 years ago. They called their Caribbean island "Borikn." That is why today you might hear some people call Puerto Rico "Borinquen" and Puerto Ricans "boricuas."

This book will give you an idea how the Tanos used to live and work. You'll meet Guann, a Tano boy about your age, and his parrot companion Tahite. Follow along as they do their chores in the cassava fields, go fishing, explore the forest, listen to stories by the fire, and see an incredible sight! I hope you will learn lots of interesting things about these people who lived in harmony with their land. But most of all, enjoy "Tano"--it was written just for you!