Latino Books

This publisher has been responsible for some wonderfully fun picture books in the past few years, but they really missed the mark here. Even de Paola's talented hand cannot save this slim and predictable picture book story. The writing is flat and didactic, a pathetic attempt that does a disservice to a rich culture.

When I read this book to my second grade class, they sit in quiet awe-- barely breathing, it seems. This story grabs kids, keeps them wondering what will happen and ultimately, moves them. This book makes for a memorable read aloud.

I spent two hours in a bookstore reading through books to find nice stories for my daughter. I couldn't believe the number of books that were negative, used words I wouldn't want to read to my child, etc. Then I found Erandi's Braids, and I cried when I read it. I bought it immediately, and read it to my daughter. It took several readings before I could get through it without tears... but she just thought I was such a good reader, because the mother in the book cries too! All that said, it is simply a beautiful story about a child's relationship with her mother, her modest pride, and her generosity despite her poor circumstances. It also gives a feeling for another culture with its use (and explanation) of a few words in Spanish. This is our favorite book.

This is excellent book written by a Mexican imigrant, Madrigal, who conveys the true meaning of selflessness. The illustrations by the reknowm Tommie DePaulo are beaughtiful and remniscent of the style of a master mexican artist. Very highly recommended.

I ordered this book for my 2 boys (who are 2 and 3). The 3 y/o enjoys looking at the pictures and likes when I read it to him, the 2 y/o is still a bit too young. I like that there are Spanish phrases throughout the book....my 3 y/o likes to repeat them after me.:)

After seeing the Pinkney's book, Shades of Black, I was expecting a similar book about Latino children. I bought this for my blonde-haired, blue-eyed half-Mexican daughter, expecting that it might show her some of the diversity of her very varied culture, but was sadly disappointed at the lack of representation. I have to say, I did not expect to find a child looking quite as light as my daughter on the pages, but I did not even see a child with green eyes, as many of the native Mexicans in her immediate family have. I guess that living in Arizona has exposed me to a wider definition of Latino than in other areas.

Overall, though, the book was very nice, and had beautiful pictures. I would have even given it a higher rating, as the authors have no way of knowing my expectations, except the description of the book implies that it is a little more inclusive.

Still, a great book for any child.

I bought this book for my classroom. I may buy a second copy for the Latino children in my family.

Our 2 year old son who is adopted from Guatemala loves to read this book and look at the Latino family while learning about them. It has a simple idea, being Latino is beautiful! I have found nothing else like this book and we love the simple and wonderful message.

I borrowed this book for my daughter from the library several times and then went ahead and just bought the book - it is so good.

The Pictures are wonderful, the story very simple(from a child's perspective). Something about the grandmother preparing a feast for her grandchildren on the occassion of her birthday is very evocative of all kinds of warm childhood memories.

My 3 year old ( I first read her this book when she was 2) loves the cadence of the prose. She learned to count to 10 in spanish from the book and, as an additional bonus, Senor Calavera has sparked her interest in the human skeletal system - she looks at the various bones and tried to feel them in herself - the ribs, the backbone, the collar bone... :D

All in all, a highly recommended book.

Did I mention wonderful illustrations... gorgeous, gorgeous colours!

Yuyi Morales is having a great year. After creating a series of deft and meaningful illustrations for Kathleen Krull's heartfelt Cesar Chavez picture book, "Harvesting Hope", she wrote and illustrated a second 2003 Pura Belpre winner. "Just a Minute" is both a trickster tale and a basic counting story. Taking the dark conceit of outwitting death through meticulous partying, the story is a delightful dance with the macabre.

It is Grandma Beetle's birthday, and a most unexpected guest is at the door. Standing as nice as you please is Senor Galavera. The handsome skeleton informs the older woman that it is just about time for her to go away with him. Grandma Beetle delays him, asking to have time to sweep her ONE house. Then she has TWO pots of tea to boil. Next, it's THREE pounds of corn to make into tortillas. As more and more time goes by the previously patient Senor Galavera becomes more and more impatient. Finally, it's party time and the finicky skeleton finds that he's had so much fun that he'll be sure to come back for Grandma Beetle's birthday at the same time next year.

Who can resist the idea of outwitting Death himself through a simple counting game? Better still, for every English number pronounced there's a Spanish one for easy translation. But as fine an author as Ms. Morales is, she's an even better illustrator. First of all, Senor Galavera is a fabulous site. Anyone familiar with a skeleton from the Day of the Dead will appreciate his appearance. Sporting a jaunty fedora and a delicately detailed body, he's really quite attractive. His mouth is a series of blue and orange alternating stripes. His eyes are the stars of the anise seed. Better yet, along his vertebrate, forearms, forehead, and kneecaps are tiny intricate details. Grandma Beetle is more than a match for this supposedly dire apparition. She's even able to coerce him into donning an apron (falling loosely on his bony hips) and mixing some pots of delicious food. Kids reading through this book several times will enjoy locating the sly kitten that follows our two heroes about from page to page. To my mind, the best part of these pictures is their luminosity. They pulsate with the deep blues, greens, reds, and other shades that line the pages. "Just a Minute" has rapidly become my number one favorite illustrated picture book of the year 2003 (outside of my beloved "Diary of a Wombat" that is). A book that intrigues, teaches, and is filled with a deep emotional warmth such as this book has is a rare find. Be sure to read it and then share it with everyone you know.

The book, in itself, has produced horrid nightmares in all six of my children with it's hateful depictions of the frightful nightmare boogyman, known as Senoir Cadaver. An R-rated childrens book -- I don't think so! Alas, there seems to be no antedote. Not even exercises beneath the vigorous sun of this world can restore them to their former health and well-being!!

It doesn't matter which language you speak, you'll enjoy this hilarious trickster tale. Grandma Beetle tricks and annoys the strange skeleton, Senor Calavera, by saying, "Just a minute!" over and over again. The skeleton, who never speaks, may have been there to take her life. Each time she delays Senor Calavera, something funny and interesting happens. The sly look in Grandma Beetle's eyes lets you know that she is tricking Senor Calavera. Recommended for people of all ages, but use carefully with young children who may be afraid of skeletons.

This book was fabulous. I wish she'd make an auto-biography. I love Mariah Carey soooooooo much [as in a role modle type way]. Mariah has such a beautiful voice; and it could blow anyone away, she is a great person, and she is so beautiful. I am so determined to become a diva, just like her, but with my own style.~*

THIS BOOK WAS A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT TO ME,IT HAD HARDLY ANY INFO,ALTHOUGH IT DID A GOOD PICTURES THEY WERE IN BLACK AND WHITE,I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS TO ANYONE.

This book was so great! I love Mariah and I loved reading her life story in this book. After I picked it up and started reading it, I didn't want to put it down! Definitely the book for anyone who wants to know more about Mariah Carey!

I have read the book and I have come to realize that she's one EXTRAORDINARY woman, gifted with a golden voice and heart. Now, that's what you call a TRUE DIVA!

We have lots of the Dora 8X8 books, this one is not one of my favorites but my 4yr old likes it.

This book is great. I really like Diego. He's really cool. Diego is quick as a bunny, but he's twice as funny. Get it? When Baby Jaguar gets stuck at the waterfall, it's up to Boots and the two cousins to save him. Dora's cousin is a great animal rescuer, un rescatmos animal.

We love Dora, but these Simon Spotlight\Nick Jr. books lack read-aloud-ability.

Since my daughter and son are 4 and 2-years respectively, they love Dora and Boots, and I have bought several of these little books but always with pretty much the same experience: I have to invent parts of the storyline and/or ignore some of it. For example, in this book the crew comes upon a ladder with no wrungs. Like in the television version the wrungs are hidden in the forest and need to be found and counted. No problem. However rather than showing Diego, Dora and Boots climbing the ladder after their successfully reconstructing it, we are shown two pages of them sliding down a zip cord. For young kids this is a discontinuity. They need to see them climb the completed ladder. It is a stupid bit of editing in my humble opinion.

There are other examples of similar unreadability and my advice is to get these at the library, or if you must own, we really like Little Star.

My son loves Diego, so anything Diego is a big hit. I love the stories because they encourage my son to think and problem solve. Diego is into wildlife rescue and the stories teach facts about different wildlife found in Central and South America and teaches the need for conservation. My only complaint would be that there aren't enough Diego books and toys. Dora gets all the limelight. Don't forget the boys!

I really wanted to like this book. A classroom magazine had suggested it and I bought it online. A lot of the rhymes don't make the most sense and a lot of the rhymes don't rhyme if you have an authentic accent. Flor does NOT sound like floor, etc.

This a geat book to start the wee ones on a road to a second language --- the text is simple and interesting
and the illustrations are outstanding---a must for preschoolers and up----- sam

Silly rhymes (Jay Harris) and silly pictures (Matt Cordell) make up this adorable book. Harris introduces or reinforces Spanish vocabulary with poems that are "Shel Silverstein" fun. For example,

Un arbol is a tree.
Una roca is a rock.
I'd rather have una roca
Than un arbol in my sock.

Lots of giggles are sure to follow!

Cute, goofy, bilingual rhymes that introduce Spanish vocabulary through kooky jokes... I like that each poem is in both Spanish and English, and that the definitions are reinforced through humor -- one of the stronger ways to learn -- and that each language is used to explore the other, back and forth, back and forth... The rhymes can be a little hard to wrap your tongue around, but there's wit and whimsy and it doesn't talk down to the readers... A nice addition to any bilingual library! (ReadThatAgain!)

I just finished the book Once upon a Quinceanera by Julia Alvarez. I picked it up, hoping to gain more insight into the rituals and religious significance of the quince. When I've said this to people, they almost always tell me something to the effect of, "oh, that's easy. It's a hispanic girl's coming-of-age." Yeah. No kidding? I'm looking for a little more depth here.

If my encounters' answer was too vague (not to mention obvious), Alvarez's response was way too deep. It was not so much about the celebration itself, but more of an examination of the issues adolescent girls face in the US in general, compounded by the additional issues particular to young latinas. It was a very interesting study in the success and failure of said girls, feminism minus man-hating, and the pros and cons of the quinceanera. But not as an outsider looking in. Alvarez herself had a difficult time finding the balance between being the good Dominican girl, and pursuing her own dreams and interests-loyalty to la familia, pursuing her education and being an intellectual, staying afloat professionally in a male-dominated time where it was difficult to be hispanic, let alone a woman.

Though it was not what I was looking for, I liked it. Though I myself am not hispanic, I found myself identifying with Alvarez throughout the book. It was interesting and entertaining.

-kendra
Big Box Pro Video Productions
Corpus Christi, Texas

The party accompanying a Latin girl's coming of age or sweet fifteen celebration is one of the highlights of her life, and in ONCE UPON A QUINCEANERA author Julia Alvarez attends the 'quince' of a young Queens woman to relate the confusion and planning over this special event, including interviews with other quince girls and her own memories to trace the origins and enactment of the ceremony. A top pick for any public lending library, especially those strong in Latin culture.

Award-winning novelist Julia Alvarez has turned her gift for human analysis toward some very real young people in ONCE UPON A QUINCEANERA, a probing and utterly readable look into the tradition of the "quinceanera," the coming-of-age party celebrated by Latina women around the globe.

In the wake of MTV's success with sweet 16 shows (in which young girls and their families spend wedding-sized amounts of money on a party where the bling outweighs any cultural significance the occasion might have) and the growing cost of a decent Bat/Bar Mitzvah in these concerned-with-wealth times in America, Alvarez looks at families, native and immigrant, who are still living below the well-to-do line and yet spend upwards of a year's mortgage payments or college tuition to make sure that their young daughter enters the "adult" world in style.

It's not just the money that disturbs Alvarez. Having come to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic around the time that she would have celebrated her own coming-of-age, she watches anxiously and sometimes enviously upon girls who don't seem to understand why this tradition is so important to young Latinas. Viewing it only as that --- a giant bling-filled party to impress their friends --- takes away from the rich traditions built into the ceremonies of the quinceanera: the changing of her shoes from flats to heels during the party, signifying her march into adulthood; the doll she carries, the last vestige of childish pursuits she's allowed to enjoy; and the church ceremony, where her grown-up responsibilities are acknowledged before God and the community.

Alvarez, who never had her own quince, delves with planners and family members into what, if anything, they remember from their own quinces and how they might incorporate the more stealthy values associated with the rituals into these girls' lives. When she speaks with the young women themselves, it's clear that most of them look upon this as their moment to become a "princess" --- indeed, one has her friends dress like Disney princess characters --- and that the money and energy that their parents, some of whom are struggling in this harsh economic system, are putting into this event is their right. They are, for good or bad, like the average American teen who thinks Beyonce is queen of the world and Jay-Z, her prince, is exactly what everyone should be looking for.

At times, it's devastating to read the accounts of how these children are so expectant but don't really understand the changes that this bash is supposed to represent --- and it's clear that Alvarez finds it sad as well. Traditions maintained are supposed to mean something --- but in present-day America, they can be just another excuse to act like overgrown kids or irresponsible adults. She keeps her cool and withholds serious judgment on these children of American entitlement, recognizing with poignancy the struggles of their parents to hold on to dear cultural strengths while trying to assimilate into the broader Bush-driven selfishness and extravagance.

The book's most appealing moments come from Alvarez's descriptive look at the craziness surrounding the day of the event and from her own recollections of growing up in the same area in Queens where she follows one family through this intense experience.

ONCE UPON A QUINCEANERA is a wonderful look at a tradition that is holding steadfast but changing at the same time. And, most of all, it's about the difficult job mothers and fathers have raising beautiful young daughters in these superficial times.

--- Reviewed by Jana Siciliano

This book was a disappointment to me. First, the book is disorganized. It isn't organized into particular chapters reflecting linear and organized observations. Rather, the book seems to embrace a stream-of-consciousness approach which is confusing and difficult to follow. Particular ideas and observations appear and reappear, rather than each being deeply examined in a section of the book devoted to their study.

The book is part personal reflection on the author's life, part description of one particular Quinceanera celebration, and a smattering of observations and inferences about feminism/cultural mixing/racism/consumerism thrown in to confuse (I'm sure the author meant to enhance) the overall "narrative".

The book's disorganization might be a result of the fact that the author did not seem to have a clearly defined audience in mind. I am not sure how many teenage Latinas will read it (as a public school teacher, I don't see many who would be able to digest the content). Thus, the more likely audience is more-educated people, probably educated women looking for insight and analysis of an important cultural ritual and its effects on individuals, families and society.

Personally, I had expected the book would be a cultural or anthropological study of the Quince ritual. There were many things I was hoping to learn from the book. I am always wondering what cultural influences lead these Latino/as to start families so young and be satisfied with low levels of education. I always presumed that their parents immigrated to this country, often dangerously and illegally, to give birth to these children here so they could have a better life than their parents. Why do these children (in the classroom at least) refuse to work hard and refuse to think about the future more than the present? As a white educator, I feel that understanding rituals such as Quince may help my understanding of the pressures of Latino culture. Sadly this book failed completely to help me understand these families' situations.

This may be in part because the author chose to spend half of the book recounting her own youth and immigration experience, which seems to bear little resemblance to the backgrounds of the majority of poor, uneducated Latino immigrants today. Her father was a doctor and the family emigrated to Queens in 1960. The author was sent to Abbot Academy in Massachussetts for high school, on scholarship (for the first year--in subsequent years the family paid full tuition as her father's income rose). It was here that the author began her life in academia (she is now an English professor) and where she was introduced to feminism.

Here is one of the primary conflicts buried in this book. The author's father was a doctor. Thus, the family had financial resources, and also valued education. The author went to private high school, and her parents paid for her to go to private college as well, where she embraced her inner feminist. To me, it seems that she actually has more in common with the backgrounds of privilege than with privation. Perhaps that is why she works so hard to express her support for the Quince ritual--embracing it allows her to be empowered by her Latino heritage, and her mythical working-class origins.

The author understands the Latino families' desire to celebrate their children. She is loath to condemn the spending or the sexualization of the Quince girl, although she expresses a mild disapproval at times. The author really seems to struggle to reconcile her need to embrace the traditions of "diverse" Latin cultures with her experiences with American feminism. Lost in this struggle is any elucidation on the effect the Quince ritual has on Latino youth in the US today.

It has what it offers. It has opposites and is a bilingual board book. I just don't like some words. The Spanish Language is a lot more complicated than English and many of the opposites are not the most appropriate.For example, it has "muy pesado" as the opposite of "livianito". That is way to complicated for a little one. Pesado and ligero it's much better.

It's wonderful to have these classic beginning children's board books available in Spanish as well as English.

This is WONDERFUL. I used it after the lesson on adjectives in my four-year-old's Flip Flop Spanish Workbook, and he was SO excited to hear and see the same Spanish words he had just studied, as well as add some new ones.

It gave me wonderful ideas of how to make flashcards for the adjectives as well, and the sweet silliness went a long way with my 2 and one year old too! A must!

Sra. Gose
Author of Flip Flop Spanish: Ages 3-5: Level 1 & Flip Flop Spanish: Ages 3-5: Level 2

My 3 year old son loved reading Boynton's "Opposites" by himself, so when I saw that it was available in Spanish I did not hesitate to purchase it.

Although I am happy with "Opuestos" overall, I found that a couple of the words used in the book, were not ones that I would have chosen (for instance, "livianito" for "light"). This is not to say that the word is incorrect, but as I am from a Castillian Spanish background, it would not be my first choice... The only other "negative" is that if you are familiar with the English version, you will question why the Spanish version has chosen the equivalent of "Awake" and "Asleep" in the text, rather than "Day" and "Night" (my son is so familiar with the English version that when we first came to that page in the Spanish version, he immediatedly said, "Day" and "Night" - I had to explain that the picture could be interpreted to mean both things!).

Overall I would recommend this book for those people interested in having their preschoolers learn some Spanish.

The First Latino Rocker jumps around more than a 2 year old on a sugar fix. It is terribly written, yet the author says it was 20 years in the making. My grade school cousin can write a one page book report with more info on a subject, than Ms. Mendheim gives in 175 pages. After the first 3 or 4 pages she has jumped from his infancy, to his musical career several times. Halfway through you are so confused with his story you have to continuously look back towards the front to see what the hay is going on. Let's just hope she does not quit her day job. The only high point in the book are the photo's.

I had been a fan of Ritchie's since 1988. When I learned of this book through Ritchie's offical fan club; I couldn't have been more pleased. I had done a research paper in my senior year of high school, on Ritchie, and I realized how little was written about him. The first Latino Rocker is the only book out there about Ritchie, and I thought it was wonderful. The other shared someone personal traits about Ritchie that allowed me to know him at least a little bit. It was actually better than the movie La Bamba. I highly recomend this book for a new Ritchie fan. I love the pictures of him in the book. My heart goes out to his family and friends since tomorrow will be February 3rd.

This was a great biography. I foolsihly thought that the movie was accurate, but this book proves me wrong. It would have been good for the movie to be just like this book, but of course the show business just wants to make it look good to make a profit! As well, maybe the movie makers had to change some things around or they would get sued. If I were going to make a movie about him, I would base it on this book. The movie was a good movie, but not truly about the real Ritchie Valens...same as the Buddy Holly Story.

Ms. Mendheim does much much more than give us an accurate account of the famed Lation rock-n-roll star's life. She successfully immerses us completely in Ritchie Valens' music, leaving us with a comprehensive wealth of knowledge that was long overdue for the public! Ms. Mendheim's thorough research is to be congratulated time after time! You WON'T be disappointed!

América is Her Name is a heartfelt, realistic story of a Mixteca Indian girl who regains her lost voice through writing poetry. What will resonate with children is América's decision not to fall victim to the poverty, hopelessness, and violence that surrounds her in the Pilsen barrio of Chicago. Instead, children will be encouraged by América's choice to heed Mr. Aponte's teachings: "When you use words to share your feelings with somebody else, you are a poet, and poets belong to the world."

Children will likewise be empowered by Luis Rodríguez's overall message that permeates throughout the text-that every voice counts. When a child is told that their words and feelings count, it is akin to opening up their world. Just as América discovers that the heart of a poet may lie beneath such social barriers as culture, race, and class; children reading her story will also see that they, too, can follow América's example and find their own poetic voice that will transcend the obstacles of life. As América begins to value the beauty of her own poetry and her mother recalls the strength of their proud heritage in her native language, the child reader will grasp that the heart of a poet is within everyone, if only we have the courage to share our words, our feelings, and our hearts, with the world.

Beautiful illustrations and a topic that hasn't been addressed much in children's literature are positive qualities of this book. However, I think it will appeal more to adults than children, and since poetry is part of the story-line, I think it ought to have more poetry embedded into the text.

"What really sets La Llaman América/América is Her Name apart is that the story manages to address perplexing realities with neither cynicism nor an excess of earnestness." --Kathy O'Connell, Hartford Advocate

"This heartening book will touch readers and writers of all ages and backgrounds and belongs in every school and public library." --Frances Ann Day, MultiCultural Review

"This story deals realistically with the problems in urban neighborhoods and has an upbeat theme: you can succeed in spite of the odds against you. Carlos Vesquez's inspired 4-color illustrations give a vivid sense of the barrio, as well as the beauty and strenght of the young girl América." --Hispanic Outlook

"This is a story for librarians, teachers and parents as well as for children ages 6 and up because it helps us understand the newcomer's search for a place of belonging. Touching and true." --Feminist Bookstore News