The Fiesta Dress: A Quinceanera Tale is written
by Caren McNelly McCormack and illustrated by Martha Aviles. It's a fun story
about a little sister who feels ignored on her big sisters quinceanera day but
when she comes through in the end for her sister's missing sash, she becomes
noticed by her sister and all her family members. The illustrations are really
bright and colorful and they take up a full page which gives the reader a lot
to look at. What I really enjoyed about this book was the fact that certain
words are substituted for spanish words. Such as Tios for Uncles, and there is
even a glossary in the back so that children can learn these new spanish words.
I would say that this book is largely aimed towards girls especially with the
large picture of a dress on the cover, I'm not sure a boy would be inspired to pick
this one up. I think children will enjoy reading about the scrapes and mishaps
that the little sister gets into and how she escapes being noticed in various
situations. Overall, I liked this book and I especially enjoyed the
multicultural aspect.
Muñoz's
(Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride) rollicking birthday tale stars one
Spanish-speaking grandmother, one very long list of party preparations and a
band of enterprising mice. Rosa María spends all week getting ready for her
seven-year-old granddaughter's birthday party, and each day items for the party
keep disappearing. So do the mousetraps she sets each evening to ensure the
celebration isn't ruined by uninvited guests. Cepeda's (What a Truly Cool
World) full-bleed, sun-splashed paintings show with gleeful candor the
missing objects being spirited away by resourceful rodents. Shots from the tops
of cupboards or two inches off the floor show the busy creatures sneaking back
and forth past Rosa María's feet as she cooks and cleans in her big earrings
and flashy high heels. But the mice redeem themselves by remembering to fill
the piñata with candy when it slips the hostess's mind. The dialogue is rich in
Spanish phrases ("¡Qué boba soy! Silly me"), descriptions of
Mexican food and images of a boisterous extended family—"Where there's
room in the heart, there's room in the house… even for a mouse," Rosa
María concludes. Cepeda wraps up this festive volume by showing how the
well-meaning vandals have put their loot to use—by throwing a mouse party of
their own. Ages 4-7. (Sept.)
There’s
more than basketball to this charming story set in Mexico. Young Gustavo (Tavo)
lives to play the game, even though he has a hard time in his falling-apart
sneakers. When his father enlists his help in revitalizing the old irrigation
ditches during a summer of drought, Tavo sadly has little time to play. The
hard work of ditch digging, however, does bring water from the mountains to the
parched fields, and salvages both the corn crop and his father’s reputation.
Tavo loses his shoes, now in pieces, in the swiftly flowing water, effectively
ending his basketball playing. However, a kind deed to an old woman we never
see (a bruja—witch—perhaps?) results in the recovery of the shoes, now
refurbished and infused with mysterious energy. Gloriously quilted (a future
fashion trend?), the dazzling shoes and the muscle Tavo has acquired digging
the ditches give his basketball game new power. The colorful, impressionistic illustrations
are full of movement and feeling. Bravo, Tavo, indeed. (Picture book. 5-8)
The stories in this book build on each other beautifully. .
. Without sentimentality or melodrama, but rather with the simple power and
grace of a fine storyteller, Jimenez is able to convince us of the narrator's
authenticity, his good-heartedness, and the good-heartedness of his family. . .
This book challenges us as readers, whether eleven or fifty. . . In The
Circuit, Jimenez has taken us inside a way of life, in all its sweetness and
all its sorrow. It is a valuable book for young people, both for its artistic
value and for the issues it illuminates. -- Riverbank Review
No comments:
Post a Comment