A Land of Books: Dreams of Young Mexihcah Word Painters

Award-winning author-illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh sheds light on the significance of Aztec manuscripts and culture in his picture book A Land of Books.

Pura Belpré Youth Illustration Honor Book

A young Aztec girl tells her little brother how their parents create beautiful painted manuscripts, or codices. She explains to him how paper is made from local plants and how the long paper is folded into a book. Her parents and others paint the codices to tell the story of their people’s way of life, ...