This image is the cover for the book The Young Teacher and the Great Serpent, Stories from Latin America (SLA)

The Young Teacher and the Great Serpent, Stories from Latin America (SLA)

The United States Board on Books for Young People (USBBY) Outstanding International Books List - PreK-2 (2024)

The New York Times New York Public Library Best Illustrated Children’s Books Award (2023)

A stunningly illustrated fable about cultural humility and the transcendent power of stories.

A young teacher sets out for the Amazon rain forest, eager to share geography, science, and math with the remote community of Las Delicias. The town’s children love the books the young teacher brings, and yet they keep repeating legends about a great and dangerous serpent. The young teacher can’t believe her students still care about that nonsense. But as the river rises, those stories don’t seem so strange anymore.  Maybe books aren’t the only way to discover the wisdom of past generations…

The Young Teacher and the Great Serpent is a poetic, thought-provoking exploration of how stories can protect and guide a community. Bold, dynamic art and lyrical writing will open unforgettable conversations about cross-cultural relationships, the importance of indigenous knowledge, and what it means to be a lifelong learner.

Empowering Latino Futures/Latino Literacy Now International Latino Book Award in Best Children’s Picture Book Translation - Spanish to English (2024)

Vermont Department of Libraries Red Clover List (2024-2025)

Irene Vasco, Juan Palomino, Lawrence Schimel

Irene Vasco is a Colombian children’s writer, translator, and educator. For many years, she has conducted reading workshops and programs in remote indigenous and agricultural communities. Irene’s work has been recognized with the IBBY-iRead Outstanding Reading Promoter Award and with the Colombian Ministry of Education’s “Life and Work” distinction. Follow Irene on Instagram @irene_vasco or visit her website at irenevasco.com.

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.