Vegeta-Literacy and the Missed Encounter with Plants: Free Textbooks, Supernaturalia by Norma Muñoz Ledo, and The Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli

Abstract

Abstract

This article explores botanical literacy in three literary texts in terms of two types of discourse, hylozoic and parabolic, utilizing Alberto E. Martos García and Gabriel Núñez Molina’s 2023 model. In Norma Muñoz Ledo’s Supernaturalia (2011, 2015), hylozoic beliefs regarding animate nature –for example, a giant squash and other tricksters– are juxtaposed with a pseudoscientific and nationalist voice. The tricksters teach ambiguous lessons. En contrast, the novels Desierto sonoro by Valeria Luiselli (2019) and Restauración by Ave Barrera (2019) adhere more closely to preestablished theses: Barrera’s book critiques femicide, while Luiselli’s rejects abuse of undocumented migrants. In both novels, the distinction between good and bad characters depends partly on their knowledge of plants: a vegeta-literacy that fails to safeguard women or impeccable ethics. Lastly, a grade school textbook suggests another route.

Keywords: juvenile literature, botanical literacy, Mexican folklore, Ave Barrera, Valeria Luiselli