Rita, a young girl living in New York’s El Barrio, describes the Afro-Caribbean dance music, salsa, and imagines being a salsa director.
Early Years (ages 2-6)
Tio Armando
When Lucita’s great-uncle Armando comes to live with them, he teaches her many truths about life.
Mice and Beans
In this tale Rosa Maria spends the week getting ready for her granddaughter’s birthday party and trying to avoid attracting mice–unaware that the mice in her walls are preparing for a party of their own.
Let’s Eat
Little Antonio introduces his extended family and explains that Mama is the biggest because “she is going to have a baby any day now.” Everyday she sends the boy to gather the family for their midday meal. On Monday, Papa can’t leave his busy carpentry shop. On Tuesday, his sister Alicia is learning to dance the sevillanas for the summer fiesta. Day after day, when there is an empty seat at the table that Papa built and Mama has filled with inviting food, she sighs, “Ay, que pena! What a pity.” Eventually, it is Mama herself who is missing because it’s time for her to have baby Rosa.
Kikirikí / Quiquiriquí
Marta and Celia have never seen Sunday dinner strut in their backyard, so when Abuela brings home a wily rooster, they are shocked at the rooster’s ugly fate. When the girls accidentally overhear Abuela telling their parents about dinner plans that involve Kiki, they know that they have to save their new friend. They hide him in the closet in their room, but when his joyful cries wake the family at dawn, they know that they’ve been caught. They soon discover that Kiki has a few tricks of his own up his wing, and with a wink, he manages to save the day.
Blow Away Soon
Disliking the wind that whisks away her favorite possessions, Sophie appeals to her grandmother for help and is instructed on how to build a blow-away-soon, an appeasing gift for the wind, in a story about keeping and giving away.
Sand Sister
When lonely Paloma goes to the beach and wishes that she had a sister to play with, the girl she draws in the sand comes magically alive, and at day’s end her parents give her the good news of a new baby on the way.
Three Little Tamales
While three little tamales cool off on a windowsill, a tortilla rolls by. “You’ll be eaten. You’d better run,” he tells them. And so the tamales jump out the window. The first runs to the prairie and builds a house of sagebrush. The second runs to a cornfield and builds a house of cornstalks. The third runs to the desert and builds a house of cactus. Then who should come along but Senior Lobo, the Big Bad Wolf, with plans to blow their houses down. Valeria Docampo’s oil-and-pencil illustrations add zest and humor to this rollicking southwestern version of a popular tale.
No Dogs Allowed!
Sometimes the unexpected is even more fun than the best-laid plans. Iris, her family, the neighbors, and dog take a road trip to the lake. But first, the cars break down. Then they get lost. And when they finally arrive at the lake, they see a NO DOGS ALLOWED sign. What to do? Iris’s family’s make-do attitude saves the day, for as they go about their beach activities while trying to figure out what to do with the dog, each takes a turn taking care of the dog. Soon the day is over, and the dog has had the best time of all — the beach had been brought to him. Sesame Street’s Sonia Manzano’s first picturebook provides an ocean of humor, a warm, close-knit Puerto Rican community, and a take-charge family who refuses to let things get in their way!
My Abuelita
Abuelita’s hair is the color of salt. Her face is as crinkled as a dried chile. She booms out words as wild as blossoms blooming. She stuffs her carcacha–her jalopy–with all the things she needs: a plumed snake, a castle, a skeleton, and more. Her grandson knows he has the most amazing grandmother ever–with a very important job. With her booming voice and wonderful props, Abuelita is a storyteller. Next to being a grandmother, that may be the most important job of all. Sprinkled with Spanish and infused with love, My Abuelita is a glorious celebration of family, imagination, and the power of story.
See the review in WOW Review, Volume 4, Issue 1.