Genre:  Mexico / Foreign Language / Educational / Party

Year Published: 2015

Year Read:  2017

Publisher: PoliglotKidz Press

Source:  eARC (Author)

I would like to thank the author Judy Martialay for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Now, I have read many children’s books that dealt with teaching children about foreign languages, but I had never read a children’s book where a term would be phrased in English and then be translated into Spanish in the same sentence and author Judy Martialay has certainly created an intriguing story that combines both Spanish and English terms in her book “Hola! Let’s Learn Spanish: Visit New Places and Make New Friends!”

Basically, this book teaches children about Mexico and its culture and language, which their language is Spanish. There is also a story woven in this book that stars a small Mexican jumping bean named Panchito who wanted to find new friends that he could play with and he ends up journeying through the marketplace and winds up at a piñata party!

What will Panchito discover at the piñata party?

Read this book to find out! 

Judy Martialay has done an excellent job at creating a book that would help children understand not only about the language of Mexico, but about its culture as well and I have always enjoyed children’s books that try to teach children about foreign cultures and how to pronounce their languages at the same time. I had a lot of fun in trying to pronounce the Spanish verses for the English verses, such as “Hola” meaning “hello” in Spanish and “Los Frijoles” meaning “beans” in Spanish and I loved the way that Judy Martialay had the English verse being spoken first and then the Spanish translation for that verse coming right after the verse such as this phrase “Look! Miren!” as it helps children see how that English verse is translated into Spanish. Judy Martialay’s artwork is extremely cute to look at as the characters are rendered in scratchy and simple outlines and I enjoyed the images of Panchito himself as he is shown as a jumping bean who has stick like legs and a small hat that he wears in each panel.



The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because I felt that the pacing was a bit too slow at times and I sort of wished that the story moved at a faster pace in introducing us to the world of Mexico.

Overall, “Hola! Let's Learn Spanish: Visit New Places and Make New Friends!” is a great book for children in learning about Mexico and their language Spanish and would be a great book in helping children understand foreign languages! I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book and the Spanish language is introduced in a way that would be easy for smaller children to understand.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Genre: Folktale / Mexico / Immigration / Family / Drama

 
Year Published: 2013

Year Read:  2016

Publisher: Abrams Books for Young Readers

Now, I have read many children’s books that dealt with people from other countries immigrating to America for a better life. But, I had never read a children’s book that went in depth with the immigration between Mexico and America and the reasons behind it. “Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale” by Duncan Tonatiuh is such a tale that tackles the subject of immigration and yet also discusses about the importance of family in such an informative and effective way!

The story starts off with Papa Rabbit going off to the carrot and lettuce fields far away to the North in order to earn extra money for his family. Unfortunately, when Pancho and his family eagerly await the arrival of Papa Rabbit, Papa Rabbit never showed up back home and Pancho and his family started getting worried about Papa Rabbit. So, late during the night, Pancho decided to go out and find Papa Rabbit himself, while packing some of his father’s favorite food, which included mole, rice and beans, tortillas and a jug full of fresh aguamiel. Along the way, Pancho meets up with a coyote who tells Pancho that he can take him to his father if Pancho gives him the food that he is carrying. Even though Pancho did not want to give up the food he was going to give to his father, he longed to see his father again, so he decided to give the coyote all of his food. Once the coyote realizes that Pancho ran out of food…

What will the coyote do to Pancho?

Read this book to find out!

Wow! This book was simply amazing and heartwarming at the same time! I just loved the way that Duncan Tonatiuh wrote this book as the writing was extremely touching and sharp and I loved the way that he wrote the characters, especially Pancho Rabbit himself. I loved the fact that Pancho was a brave and determined child who only wanted to see his father and the fact that he journeyed across the desert with his food barely intact really showed his determined nature throughout the story, which made him into such an inspiring character. Duncan Tonatiuh has done a splendid job at explaining about the obstacles that most immigrants face whenever they are migrating to another country in order to provide more food and money for their families and I like the fact that there was more emphasis put on Papa Rabbit trying to provide for his family rather than explain how his situation as an immigrant would have been treated in another country. I also loved the little author’s note at the end where Duncan Tonatiuh provided statistics regarding immigrants coming to America and how to look at the situation from an immigrant’s perspective instead of assuming false facts about their situation in going to America to get a good job. Duncan Tonatiuh’s artwork is highly creative as it is hand drawn and then collaged digitally and it gives the book a unique feel as I rarely see artwork where you see cut outs from magazines being combined with hand-drawn artwork. I also loved the Mexican influence of the artwork as it made me feel like I am living in Mexico right as I am reading this book!



The only problem I had with this book was that the ending felt a bit abrupt as there was a major plot point that happened near the end of the book and it was not quite resolved. I would have liked to see that plot point actually be resolved towards the end of this story. I will not give out too many details about what happened at the end since I do not want to spoil anything, but let us just say that it dealt with people stealing items from one of the characters.

Overall, “Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote” is a truly lovely story about the experiences of immigration and the importance of family that many children will enjoy for years! I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since some of the Mexican language might be a bit hard for smaller children to understand.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Genre:  Mexico / Fairy Tale / Retelling / Folktale

Year Published: 2002

Year Read:  2010

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons      

“Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story” is a Mexican retelling of the classic fairytale, “Cinderella” retold by Tomie dePaola and it is about how a poor yet beautiful young woman named Adelita has to suffer the cruelness from her stepmother Senora Micaela de la Fortuna and her two daughters Valentina and Dulce until one night, Adelita hears about the fiesta that the rich family, the Gordillos, were having and she tries everything to go to the fiesta and see the Gordillos’ handsome son, Javier. “Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story” is truly one of the most memorable retellings of “Cinderella” ever told!

Out of all the versions I have read of the classic story of “Cinderella,” this was the first time that I have heard of a Mexican version of this classic tale and therefore, it made this book extremely unique from all the other fairytale versions I have ever read. Tomie dePaola has truly done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this book as the story is extremely heartwarming and dramatic at the same time. When I was reading this book, I can actually feel sympathy for Adelita’s predicament as she is treated cruelly by both her stepmother and her stepsisters and I think that many children would feel sympathy for her too. I also loved the way that Tomie dePaola puts various Spanish phrases in the book such as “Hace mucho tiempo” and then explaining the phrase in English like “Hace mucho tiempo – a long time ago” and what made the Mexican language much easier to understand is that Tomie dePaola provides a glossary at the end of the book detailing the translations of each Spanish phrase. Tomie dePaola’s illustrations are much more beautiful in this book as all the characters look realistic and fluid. The illustration that stood out the most for me was the illustration of Adelita herself as she has long black hair and beautiful dark eyes and also Tomie dePaola provides the perfect Mexican atmosphere in his illustrations by drawing images of Mexican styled houses.

“Adelita: A Mexican Cinderella Story” is truly one of the best retellings of “Cinderella” I have ever read since it deals with Mexican culture and is a retelling of an old fairy tale, so children who love Mexican folktales and fairytales in general will definitely enjoy this book! I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the Spanish language might be a tad bit too confusing for smaller children to understand.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog