Lady of Palenque: Flower of Bacal

by Anna Kirwan

Anna Kirwan, best-selling author of THE ROYAL DIARIES: VICTORIA, MAY BLOSSOM OF BRITANNIA, offers a riveting look at Mayan culture, A.D. 749, through the eyes of Princess Green Jay, Lady of Palenque.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0439409713
• ISBN13: 9780439409711
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Scholastic Press
• Length: 204 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

One of my favorite books from The Royal Dairies

The book is written wonderfully and from a 13 year old girl’s point of view. I have read the Royal Diaries books and in some you can tell they are written by an adult. The author cannot get into that frame of mind. The Dear America and Dear Canada series have great books but the same problem of the author not being in the same frame of mind of a 12-13 year girl. Some of these books are written by men who cannot get the point of view correct. Jim Murphy is the exception from generalization I just made above. The history can be correct in these books written by men and women who get the history correct but the point of view wrong! I especially like the books where girls recognize boys. This is a normal biological reaction that God put in us girls. Just as long as the books do not go to far into that direction. For this girl it is part of her culture for girls to marry early. In my youth it was not and l married later as a woman. In today’s society girls don’t marry until they are women well into their late 20’s or early 30’s. But in all eras through time girls notice boys earlier than boys notice girls. Also during different eras of time adulthood was judged differently. Adulthood was 13 years old. It is also normal for a 13 year girl to write about her teen age crushes in a private book like a diary. A few of us have and if we are not too chicken to read those diaries we would laugh out loud about the things we put in them! Read this one it is a wonderful book!

Lady of Palenque: Flower of Bacal

Before I read this book, I thought of gruesome practices like human sacrifice when I thought of the Mayans. Little did I know that the Ancient Mayans were a very interesting and unique people. I read about their vibrant culture and colorful history in the Epilogue, and I loved the expression "gave up her White Flower", meaning died, used in the book. It points back to a culture with rich customs.

**Maybe no one really read the book, to understand***

Hey guys, I have read almost every Royal Diaries book, and have loved each one of them. Sure there might be some spots that might sound boring, but HELLO, this book is supposed to be a biography. If you were a real fan, you would try reading it, excluding others' opinions. So anyway, I wouldn't dub it the "best book", but I suggest it to anyone who wants a taste of the Mayan culture. P.S. - I finished the book in a few days, and was able to turn it in to the junior high librarian saying good remarks about it.

Not That Bad!!!

i think that most people only write a reveiw if it is bad!!! there are many people that DO enjoy this book!!! I did!!!

one of the best

I real realy enjoyed this book.it is not as bad as people make it sound.

Well worth reading!

This book was very interesting and exciting. I really enjoyed the believable characters. It is the story of the main character's journey through the jungles of Mesoamerica. If you like historical fiction, I recommend this book. I love the Royal Diaries Series and this book is a good addition.

This is a beautiful book

I found Princess Green Jay on the Wall to be an interesting and courageous girl who speaks truthfully about her worries about leaving home and meeting her future husband King Fire Keeper, the Holy Cornstalk Lord of Xukpi. I disagree with the comments that this story reads like a history book. This story reads like poetry! The discriptions are incredibly realistic. I could see this story as I read it which is great because the Mayan culture is so hard to imagine. Also, the book is not boring, there is plenty of action; enemies and alligators, boat wrecks, and deaths. The hardest thing about reading it is keeping track of the names which are long and might sound ridiculous to some people, but, this is a story about a very different culture, place and time. I wish there were more pictures of Mayan art at the back of the book. I encourage readers to try this beautiful book. I think the author is really smart. I learned alot about Mayan culture and now I want to learn more.