Mexico Books

At school my whole class read this book for read aloud! It was a very good book. Frida was very good at art. She had five sisters but it seamed like they didn't pay attention to her! She was always lonely and she was bored.But atleast she had Imaginary friends to comfort her. One day she got in a horrible bus accident! Read this book to find out how Frida turned out after her pain. Reccomended for people who may want to learn how to turn pain into beauty.

I own the Spanish version of this book, and I love it. So do all my students - I teach Preschool Spanish (ages 3-6). My 5 year old daughter is an artist and she loves the vivid colors and imaginative characters that follow Frida through her life. The children I teach do not know Spanish, but they are able to look at the pictures and understand the story. They regularly request this book and enjoy looking for the 'spooky' characters.

My son and daughter could really relate to another person's life thanks to this well-written and cleverly illustrated book. Frida was, as they are now, someone who wasn't always able to have her mother's attention. She lived out fantasies in her mind, just as they do. She used her imagination even when she was unable to move her body, just like they do before they fall asleep at night. Frida's quotidian and extraordinary experiences spring to life thanks to the inventive illustrations and sympathetic writing.

More than once, creating art saved Frida Kahlo's life. Even though she had five sisters, she was almost always lonely and sad. When she was infected with polio and she was very sick, even her imaginary friends couldn't cheer her up, but painting and drawing rescued her. Most of her life, she was in heart-breaking pain after being in a horrible bus accident. Read this book to find out how art saved her once more. Recommended for people who want to learn how Frida Kahlo turned terrible pain into beautiful masterpieces.

My mom read me this book and I saw that art is important and special, it can save you and allow you to express your imagination even when times are tough

I can feel the warmth of that rising sun everytime I look at the scene on this cover [we use it as our screensaver]. I'm sure I've been to this place. Just as this cover scene will rekindle memories for Baja travelers, this story is so vivid you may later try to recall if these were people you've actually met,places you've been yourself, and maybe even that chubasco you went through back in 19[??]!

On a whim I suggested this book to my reading group--as I would be hosting the meeting to discuss it and wanted an excuse to serve salsa and chips. It was a delight to read.

Have heard great reviews and can't wait to get it. The 24 hour shipping is now at 144 hours and counting. Not very happy with my first attempt to order from Amazon.com

I came upon this book by accident and have recommended it highly. It has all the flavor of John Steinbeck, a powerful set of characters and a fine story line with humor and pathos. I hope Mr. Kira writes some more fiction for us to appreciate.

I loved, I laughed, I cried! This book truly captures the magic of the baja, and the special people who call it home or a home away from. I highly recommend it to anyone in love with this special "last best place".

Nos permite conocer la vida de una mujer que marco grandes cambios en MÉxico.No tiene la aridez general de las biografias, sino un ritmo dinamico, constante, especial...Además, nos da a conocer detalles historicos....

DE UNA MUJER QUE, COMO TODOS NOSOTROS, ODIABA LA TIRANIA Y LUCHABA CONTRA EL INVASOR ESPAÑOL !
Si no te interesa la historia pero te encantan las novelas excelentes, NO DEJES DE LEERLA.
Si te interesa la HISTORIA COMBINADA CON LA HERMOSURA... NO TE LA PIERDAS !!!

I have read the other reviews and they have summed up this marvelous novel much better than I can. I would even recomend it for the homeschooler, keeping it in mind that is it for the mature, but much can be gleaned from its pages into the History of Mexico. Bravo to the Author for bringing this heroine alive.

y nos permite conocer la vida apasionado de una mujer que marco grandes cambios en Mèxico.
No tiene la aridez general de las biografias, sino un ritmo dinamico, constante, especial...

Una vez iniciada la lectura de esta novela perfecta... no se la puede dejar hasta concluirla.
Además, nos da a conocer detalles historicos ( como la la abjuracion final de Hidalgo al final )

This writer is, by own right, the new Spanish speaking queen of writers!
Before her splendor, Isabel Allende and Garcia Marques might as well be dead !
The book is UNIQUE! The writing impeccable, light as the wings of a butterly but deep as the emotions of a great woman!

Este libro es la tercera parte de la trilogia que se forma con "La hija de la fortuna" y "La casa de los espiritus".
Con el estilo maravilloso de la narracion de Isabel Allende, es una mezcla perfecta entre fantasia y realidad que atrapa al lector hasta el final.
Excellente libro para recomendar!

este libro lo recomiendo 100% me encanto ,y puedo decir que es uno de sus mejores trabajos.

Es un libro muy entretenido que dificilmente lo quieres dejar de leer. La gracia que tiene Isabel Allende al describir a los personajes hace que te adentres en ellos.

MCAC

Esta es la primera novela que leo
de la escritora Isabel Allende, me
parecio una obra genial, la manera
y el estilo de Allende son tan originales
que me dejan sin aliento y sin nada
mas que agregar,lo unico que se puede
decir es que la lean.

Excellent Novel, should be read as a supplement after reading "La Hija de la Fortuna" from the same author.

This is not only an exquisitely written book filled with spot-on dialogue -- it has a highly cinematic sensibility and would translate well to cinema. They say there is a scarcity of strong, well-developed roles for women in film; well, here, in Patricia Morelos, is one that is most definitely Oscar caliber. I had the privilege of meeting the writer at a conference recently and, like everyone else in the group, was stunned by her abilities as a writer and born ranconteur. (Linda is also an amazing painter as well!) It is quite difficult for a writer to create such an intricate, tightly woven plot that flows organically and Linda has done it here. The vivid descriptions of Mexico make the reader feel as though they are really on this journey along with the characters. I look forward to reading Linda's next book; she's a natural, easily on par with or above many of the top novelists writing today.

This book was very entertaining and hard to put down. I can't wait to read her next novel!

A spellbinding story come alive by stephanie Brush and her awe inspiring acting skills. Her multilingual dialict is right 'on point.' A fine actress. The listener is swept along. A real tribute to the novel. Don't miss this CD!

Author of The Citrus Baron, a family saga of old Florida

"My heart skipped more than a few beats as intrigue, love and Mexican lore, swept me into the ebb and flow of The Second Milagro. Linda Rainwater has a vivid imagination. Rich, detailed text moved me from being a mere reader to become one with the protagonist. Linda has a true gift in the art of story telling!"

Linda Rainwater takes her readers on a suspense-filled journey through time. Though most of the action is set in Mexico, one of the best "miracles" takes place within the reader, who learns, along with character Patricia Morelos, the freeing power of truth!

Having studied the history of the Conquest, I can attest that Ron Braithwaite has accurately and thoroughly researched this remarkable topic, but his achievement goes far beyond that. He has brilliantly created vivid characters and intriguing subplots that grab the imagination and invite it to soar. It's all there--an intimate view of the incredible cunning of Cortez, finely wrought portraits of fascinating fictional characters, and a powerful depiction of two extraordinary cultures clashing in ways few could have imagined. An especially captivating element of the novel is a recurring flash-forward to two priests locked in a high-stakes battle of wills over how to portray the period's history. Skull Rack has portrayed it in dynamic, engaging style. I already have the sequel, Hummingbird God, on order.

As a history major and now a librarian, I've always been fascinated with the Aztec Empire and the destruction of that empire by the Spaniards. This fictionalized account of that event is played out in the two books: Skull Rack and Hummingbird God. The story of young Rodrigo and Cortez holds your interest. You will definitely get caught up in the tale. It's too bad that the story wasn't published in one big book. Hint: you have to get both books to read the entire story. We follow young Rodrigo as he takes on the soldier's life first in Europe and then in the New World. I loved him as the young dashing soldier. What happened to him to turn him into the evil, ancient bishop who is telling his story to the younger priest? Hopefully the author will write a sequel.

Skull Rack and its sequel Hummingbird God give a factual but fictionalized account of the Conquest of Mexico. In a collision of cultures, Hernan Cortes sets out to conquer Mexico with 500 soldiers. He faces the Aztec empire and its army of hundreds of thousands of warriors.
I am biased in that I consider the Conquest the greatest recorded adventure in the history of man. I am also familiar with various factual accounts and am a stickler for accuracy. I rarely, if ever, read fiction. Since this is the first fictionalized account of the Conquest from the Spanish viewpoint that I know of, I decided to give it a try. I was not disappointed; I could not put Skull Rack down. Ditto Hummingbird God.
Braithwaite, while remaining true to history, has woven several tales into one great adventure story. You get the Conquest, the Italian Wars, Spain after the expulsion of the Moors and insight into the Inquisition. The exchanges between the protagonist and his unwilling editorial assistant alone make the book worth reading.
This book is not only extremely well researched from an historical perspective, it would feel authentic to anyone unfamiliar with the Conquest. The author's knowledge of weaponry, wounds and the treatment of wounds is equally impressive. I'd be more specific, but don't want to tip Braithwaite's hand.
One word of caution: don't read Skull Rack until you have Hummingbird God in hand or you'll find yourself looking for an all-night bookstore.

This is one of those books you can't stop reading ones you have opened it! Even though I'm not english spoken and my knowledge of the Mexican history is close to zero this is a book that makes me start thinking of the mexican life and the hardship of the people that concered it. Looking forward to the next book!!!

For those who appreciate historical novels solidly based on facts,while still telling a gripping story, this is the book for you. Cortes' exploits are vaguely known by most people but the actual story is more fascinating than any "thriller novel" Ron Braithwaite has done his homework. The story, which uses the method of a retelling by a Priest of the Spanish Inquistion,is very well written in a lean and moving fashion. The alternating scenes between Cortes in Mexico and the retelling by the Priest is an effective way of creating two avenues of tension in the book--not an easy thing to do. Most people know what happened to Cortes, but the Priest's narration still leaves the outcome in doubt. Dr. Brathwaite has written a sequel which Im looking forward to reading. Don't miss these books. James E. Vigiletti, Attorney at Law

It's worth picking up a copy, alot of information in there. Good thick book. Glad i bought it.

This book must have taken a life time of research and work. It is the most comprehensive and complete work on the Maya I have read. I was particulary interested in the Maya Calendar history and their methods of working the calendar.

This is by far the most comprehensive book about the ancient Maya. There are several excellent shorter ones; this is the go-to book for thorough reference. It has become almost as "classic" as Maya civilization. Sharer reminisces about being "hooked on" Maya studies by the third edition (by Morley and Brainerd, 1956); so was I, back when it was newly minted. How much has changed since. Scholars can now read Maya. We now can match written history, sculptured portrayals, and archaeological findings to identify the actual skeletons of some of the greatest and most famous Maya kings, such as Yax K'uk' Mo' of Palenque. We have entire dynastic lists covering centuries, for many of the major cities. We can use bone chemistry to find out what the Maya ate. All of this was almost beyond the wildest dreams of the 1950s.
The Maya turn out to have been as brilliant, original and creative as anyone ever thought, a truly homemade civilization, one of the few in a tropical forest environment. They are said to have "collapsed" due to ecological maladjustment, but this book notes that modern research shows the civilization lasted well over 1,000 years before the "collapse" around 900 AD, and it was a fairly local phenomenon. This local collapse was due to drought, warfare, and some ecological overshoot--too many people doing too much (including burning too many trees to make lime for stucco and cement). The Maya kept on. They took on the Spanish and often won. The last independent state held out till 1697, and Maya continued holding out in remote backlands; in 1846 the Mexican Maya rebelled again, and created an independent state, finally reconquered after 1900 and turned into the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. As for what has happened since, suffice it to say that 3 days ago I saw an election sign painted in huge letters on a wall in central Quintana Roo: "PRESERVE YOUR PRIDE IN BEING MAYA!"
There are very few errors in this book, but some need correcting in the 7th edition. Most are in the very early sections, and are often left over from previous editions. Page 5, 16th-century Europeans are said to be "secure in the knowledge that they alone represented civilized life...." No, they revered China, and knew plenty about India, Persia and Arabia. P. 9, coffee is said to have come "soon" with the Europeans; not till the 19th century, at least as a major crop. 23, Nahuatl loanwords reflecting rise of central Mexico in the Postclassic: Well, a lot of those Nahuatl loanwords came with the Spanish (who had Nahuatl soldiers with them). Page 33, caiman: The book confuses the animal called "caiman" in English, an alligator-like creature not found within hundreds of miles of Mayaland, with the crocodile, which is called "caiman" in Mexican Spanish; also, pythons are claimed as native to Mayaland! The nearest they get is Africa; evidently "boa constrictors" are meant. Then nothing till page 640, where a typo (apparently two decimal places missed) has given us a preposterous yield figure for beans (in the table at the top of the page). The yields of maize are also pretty high, though not ridiculous. There are a few other errors in the book, but nothing of consequence that I can pick up.
The book uses the "new" transcription system for Maya languages, but sometimes slips and uses the "old" system, and sometimes mixes them up in the same word (e.g. "dz'onot" on p. 52). One related annoyance--not Sharer's fault; alas, it is becoming standard--is respelling "Yucatec" in the new transcription system. "Yucatec" is a SPANISH word, with no excuse in Maya, and should not be respelled. (For the record, the Spanish coined "Yucatec" from a misunderstood Maya phrase and a Nahuatl ending. They also popularized some Nahuatl ethnic names for Maya peoples. These names, like Huastec and Aguacatec, should be spelled in whatever system in now standard for Nahuatl--not in a Maya system. Better yet, they should be replaced with the actual Mayan names, like Teenek for Huastec.)
The one place I would respectfully disagree with this book is on ancient Maya population. Sharer has "tens of millions" of Maya in the 700s AD and around then. On the basis of some years of field experience with (mostly modern) Maya agriculture, I don't think this is possible. Granted that the old myth of purely-swidden agriculture is long dead, "tens of millions" would require agricultural intensity of a sort found, in preindustrial times, only in the wet-rice lands of east and southeast Asia. Mayaland is small, and only some of it is at all fertile. Sharer's evidence is a couple of surveys showing high densities of settlement in particularly favored areas; not only are they atypical, there is no guarantee the houses discovered were all occupied at once. I would guess the peak total for Mayaland was between 5 and 10 million; at least, the agriculture I know would support that many, if it had some additional intensification of the sort well documented. Beyond that, all is speculative.
One more thought. The Maya were supposed to be "peaceful" back in my student days. Then, with reading the Classic Period texts, scholars found they were pretty warlike. This led to some exaggeration the other way. Fortunately, Sharer is far too careful and comprehensive a scholar to fall for either the "peaceful" or the "warlike" view. The "warlike" view was justified by the big monuments in the Maya city squares. These commemorated wars and victories, just as do those in town squares in the midwestern US. Alas, we lack the ordinary writings--the equivalent of midwestern newspapers, with their record of marriages, births, corn and hog prices, store openings, and the like. Surely the Maya had their equivalents. What interests me here is the incredibly long life spans of Maya kings. Many lived, and even reigned, for 50, 60, even 70 years. Compare that with the Roman or Chinese emperors or the kings of France. Clearly, Mayaland in its glory days was a pretty peaceful, healthy place--though, indeed, not the paradise dreamed by romantic archaeologists of the early 20th century!
The ancient Maya are still a pretty mysterious lot in many ways, and there is a huge amount to learn. We had better do it soon. Sharer provides a long, excellent, very disturbing account of the looting that has destroyed much of the Maya heritage and will destroy all of it (at least in Guatemala) if a massive effort isn't mounted soon.
On the other hand, nothing is more heartening than the number of Maya who are becoming archaeologists and ethnographers, and studying their own past. More power to them.

Had this book been less than half its size readers would end up learning much more about the Maya from it. Unfortunately, there's much too much that belongs in an Archeology 101 class here and by the time you get to some discussion of the Maya, you're half asleep. Those of us who are not reading archeology for the first time will wish the author had just kept his discussion to the Maya, as the title suggests he will, and assumed we understood the basics.

Personally, I'm still looking for a book on the Maya so that as I travel from site to site in Quintanaroo, Yucatan, Guatemala and Honduras, I will have a basic understanding of the site I'm driving to. I just booked a trip that will book me in the area of Chac Mool soon. I'll see what I can find.

By far the most thorough book on the Ancient Maya I have ever seen. It covers all the history and gives a great deal of arceological information. There is also a lot of information on the religious, social, and economic life of the Maya. The book covers in great deal the history of each Mayan polity and it is very well organized. If there is anything you want to know about the Maya it will be in this book.

I'll be brief. If you're a fan of adventure, of swashbuckling, of novels like Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo" - this book is for you. It's a thrilling novel full of vivid descriptions and interesting characteres.

I came to the novel "Captain" by something of a back door. Years ago I saw the screen version and loved it. As a matter of fact, I first read Prescott's history as a teenager and have been entranced with the Conquest ever since. In the last number of years I decided to write and, being a true aficionado of Mexican history, I explored the possibility of writing about the Conquest. Surely, I thought, there has been abundant English-language fiction written on this, one of the most phenomenal conquests in history. I was wrong. Except for Schellabarger, there seem to have been few novels written on the Conquest...from the Spanish point of view.

Having decided to write on the Conquest and, recognizing that Schellabarger and I would necessarily be walking on the same ground and contending with the same people--and recognizing that my novel[s] must be entirely unique--I purchased his book and read it thoroughly and critically. I believe I succeeded and my novels, "Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God", are the result. Are my insights and is my writing as good as Schellabargers'? I obviously can't answer that question myself. It's up to the reader.

My lead character, Rodrigo de la Pena, is a far darker character than Schellabarger's Pedro. Rodrigo is no "Count of Monte Cristo" and his relationships with women and Hernan Cortes are more tortured and complex. This doesn't mean that I don't enjoy Schellabarger's tale. Quite the contrary, I love it and think it is one of the truly great novels.

Ron Braithwaite author of Mexican Conquest novels, "Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"

I picked this book up for twelve cents (yes, twelve cents) at a used book sale, and it was by far the best twelve cents I have ever spent. I had previously read Shellabarger's Prince of Foxes while on a swashbuckler kick last summer, and so had reasonably high expectations for Captain from Castille. This book went well above and beyond my expectations. I find it hard to express just how good this book was. The reason I like the genre of swashbuckler books is that in them one finds the truest expression of the unbridled youthful imagination. From sword fights and pirates to code of honor and witty dialogue, this genre is the embodiment of the imagination of every young man. I have rarely, if ever, encountered a book which so stirs this sort of imagination as this book does. I think Shellabarger rises above even Dumas in this category. I am still amazed at the greatness of this book. How it is so unknown is beyond my means of explanation.

Captain from Castille is the account of the adventures of Pedro de Vargas, a young Spanish nobleman from Castille. He encounters the corrpution of the Spanish Inquisition, flees to the newly discovered New World, and joins Cortez in his war against the Aztecs. I have never read such an accurate depiction the journey of an innocent boy into a worldly-wise man as Shellabarger has created in this book. The transition is so smooth and seamless that it is not until the end of the book that you suddenly realize how far he has developed. It is only then that you can look back and see how incidents slowly shaped Pedro's thinking. In respect to innocence, Shellabarger seems to me to be exactly half-way between the childlike innocence of Robert Louis Stevenson and the crafty/worldy Dumas. Stevenson's books were born of the imagination of a young man confined to his mind by illness. Dumas' were the product of real-world experience. Shellabarger has sucessfully combined the two, managing to retain the innocent imagination of Stevenson along with the real-world practicality of Dumas. Pedro himself makes the journey from the one to the other in this book, and in the end rejects the latter for a newly-understood version of the former.

I really have little else to add that has not been said by previous reviewers. A few reviewers have been bothered by some of the chauvinistic remarks in the book, or by the justification of the conquest of the Aztecs. I think they have entirely misunderstood Shellabarger himself to be promoting these things. He was simply writing the book from the perspective of someone living in the 16th century. He actually spent a significant amount of time researching the people, places, and events he wrote about in this book (which is remarkably historically accurate), and what he wrote of those subjects in the book could easily have flowed from the quill of a 16th century writer. The fact that Pedro struggles with the morality of killing the natives, and in some cases tries to prevent it, shows that Shellabarger understood the problem, but purposely wrote it from the perspective of a Spanish man fighting the Aztecs. To those who decry the savage portrayal of the Aztecs as lying human-sacrificers: well, it's actually quite accurate. It is hardly fair to call Shellabarger culturally insensitive for accurately depicting the Aztecs.

In short, if you like swashbucklers in the style of Dumas, Stevenson, Sabatini, etc., you need to find a copy of this book. For a long time The Three Musketeers has reigned (in my opinion) as the best swashbuckling book, and the Captain from Castille is its first significant challenger. If Shellabarger's other books are nearly as good as the Prince of Foxes and this book, he well deserves to be enshrined alongside Dumas in the lists of great authors.

Overall grade: A+

"The dream, not the realization; effort, not fruition; battle, not victory - these were life." -Fray Bartolome Olmedo (CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE)

The words of Father Olmedo fire the spirit of young Spanish nobleman Pedro de Vargas for glory, riches, fame, and honor in the New World in 1518. Falsely charged with the crime of heresy by The Dominican Inquisitor of Jaen, Father Ignacio de Lora, and the scheming and greedy aristocrat Diego de Silva, Pedro and his family are imprisoned and condemned to suffer unspeakable torture and certain death. From this exciting beginning of CAPTAIN FROM CASTILE we follow Pedro and his two closest friends Juan "Bull" Garcia (recently returned to Spain from the Indies with gold in his purse and adventure in his blood) and Catana Perez (a poor but beautiful dancer and servant girl at the Rosario Inn) as they leave the decadence and corruption of the Old World behind to explore the promise of the New World with Captain General Hernan Cortes and his small Company of Conquistadors. Along the way, from Cuba to the Yucatan Peninsula and then to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, they discover a strange world that is both enchanting and frightening, beautiful and savage, and forge the bond of friendship that will be severely tested in the coming years and will carry them through many harrowing adventures and confrontations with Aztec warriors and Spanish evildoers alike. This is an extremely well-written novel rich in history and full of excitement. I highly recommend it.

A few readers may be put off by the author's portrayal of the indigenous people of Mexico during the 1500s as being brutal and bloodthirsty. The Aztecs did practice human sacrifice by tearing the beating hearts out of their captors and then cannibalizing their corpses. One reviewer expressed a concern that Samuel Shellabarger condoned the thrashing of a wife by her husband. In the 16th century, women were considered to be chattel and fathers and husbands had the power of life and death over them. Mr. Shellabarger's novel brings to light the realities of the time.

This one had a lot of promise. Written by a fairly reputable author, still in print after fifty years, a best-seller in its time, and with the Cortez conquest of Mexico as its backdrop, it seemed like can't-miss historical fiction. Well, it isn't awful or anything, but there is much, much better out there.

The story is about Pedro de Vargas, the scion of a Spanish nobleman. His family becomes ensnared by the Inquisition through machinations of the one-dimensionally evil Diego de Silva, and they must flee Spain. The father and mother make it to Italy, and Pedro goes to Cuba, where he meets up with and joins the Cortez expedition.

This, of course, makes up the bulk of the novel and as far as it goes, it's pretty good. You really can't go wrong with subject matter such as this; my goodness, this has to be one of the most thrilling stories in history. And Shellabarger gets the details right: there's Cortez burning his ships, there's Montezuma as a Spanish captive, there's Alvarado massacring the natives, and there's the Spanish retreat on the night of tears.

The problem is that there's nothing especially illuminating about any of this. The Cortez character is about what you'd imagine him to be, no more, no less. The same for Montezuma, the vacillating emperor. History shows that he was weak-minded. He's weak-minded in the novel. The Spanish soldiers lusted for gold and were devoutly Catholic; the Aztecs practiced human sacrifice and lived in the stone age. Just like we've all been taught.

In the meantime our hero has a book-long love affair with a cabaret dancer and a book-long faithful friend who suffers his triumphs and tribulations along with him. The tension comes from de Silva who follows him all over the place to give Pedro and us something to worry about, and also the pretty but empty-headed noble girl he left behind in Spain and whom he feels guilty about not marrying.

Again, this isn't a terrible read. But for adventure, Sabatini and G. M. Fraser are more entertaining; for fiction with this subject matter, Aztec, by Gary Jennings, is more imaginative; and for a strictly historical aspect, The History of the Conquest of Mexico, by Prescott, though a history, is frankly more exciting.

Don't neeed a thousand words to describe this beautiful map. Great, wonderful and thanks to the publishers for all the information contained.

We have been to Cancun three times now and still find this map and guide invaluable. The information it contains allows even a first time visitor to enjoy all that Cancun has to offer. We will be heading back to Cancun in Jan. of 2001 and this will be the first thing we pack. After that we will order an new one as this one is getting quite worn from all the use. The only thing I have found that I would rate higher is the "Cancun User's Guide" and unfortunately that is only available through the author who has lived in Cancun since 1981.

in making a trip to the Yucatan Penninsula. Excellent coverage of Cancun. The Can-do Maps by the McFarlin family are updated annually and available through Amazon or their www.cancunmap.com website. Maps are available of Cancun, Cozumel, Riviera Maya, Playa de Carmen, and soon Isla Mujeres and Chichen Itza.

I buy new maps yearly, because the changes year to year are so drastic. Get one or all before you go!

This map, along with the others they publish, is the one thing you must have before travelling to Cancun. It will make your trip so much more enjoyable, because you will never be lost.

This map proves very helpful to know where you are and how to find where you are going. The price guide lets you know what to expect to spend once you get there. It also has the locations of the bus stops listed. This is a very easy way to travel and knowing where you can get on and off is very handy. The map made us look like we had been there many times when it was only our first trip. I also know what I missed so I can see those things next trip. You will not be disappointed in the map once you get there. It is amazing how much information is packed on this little map.

My 3 year old thinks that this is the greatest book ever written. The story is engaging and the illustrations are priceless. My husband and I would read this story even if we didn't have kids. It's awfully hard not to like the dirty cowboy or his dog.

I bought this for my nephew's 4th birthday and he asks to have it read over and over. All of the adults who have read it laugh out loud. It's absolutely wonderful.

This book is your basic, down to earth, cowboy story. It is sure to tickle any child that you read it to, and entertain you too. The illustrations are wonderful and the story unique.

Amy Timberlake's Dirty Cowboy is now my favorite picture book. I have started using this as a read aloud for my students at school and they love the illustrations!
The Cowboy goes to take his yearly bath at the creek only to find that once he is super clean his "Dawg" no longer recognizes him. It is a humorous tale as the Cowboy and Dawg fight for the clothing.

This book is highly entertaining and clever. We love it!