The Pinata Maker/ El Pinatero

The Piñata Maker/ El Piñatero

By George Ancona

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Ancona, George. (1994). THE PIÑATA MAKER/ EL PIÑATERO. San Diego:
       Harcourt Brace & Company. ISBN 0-15-261875-9.

PLOT SUMMARY:

This nonfiction children’s picture book is a photo essay about the craft of piñata maker Don Ricardo Nuñez Gijón from Ejutla de Crespo, Oaxaca, Mexico. It is told in both English and Spanish with many pictures that accompany the words on the pages. Not only does Don Ricardo make piñatas for birthday parties and Christmas festivities, he makes larger than life puppets as well. The details of each step in the piñata-making process are beautifully explained and shown in the photographs.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

The text of the picture book is in both English and Spanish. The English paragraphs are interspersed with some Spanish words that are natural and appropriate for the setting of the book. Some of the Spanish terms are: Buenos dias, Ay, fiesta, sombreros, Señora, and Doña. Where no translation is given, the accompanying photographs help to tell the story. In other instances, the author does provide the translation: puppets for monos and star for piñata de picos.

The photographs of  77 year-old Tio Rico and the people of his town give the reader great insight into the daily life and culture of the Mexican people in Oaxaca. There are several descriptions to indicate that this craftsman is working in Mexico and not in the United States: he uses rolls of dried banana leaves and traditional clay pots to form his piñatas; the village children are barefoot in some of the photos; and, the puppets, masks, and piñatas are used to celebrate at parties, birthday parties, and other celebrations through the year. The puppets are put on and the children do traditional folk dances.

The piñatas in this humble Oaxacan village are filled with oranges, apples, tangerines, peanuts, walnuts, peaches, pieces of sugarcane, small toys, sweets and confetti. In the United States they are filled with candy, toys, and sometimes coins.

This is an amazing testimony to the time, skill and effort of the traditional handicrafts of Mexico. Tio Rico puts so much into his beautiful creations, knowing that they will be broken. “As Tio Rico takes his leave, he turns to look at the remnant of his beautiful piñata, and he smiles, knowing that it is proof of a very happy birthday fiesta.”

 

AWARDS:

Texas Library Association Bluebonnet Award 1994

Parents Choice Award 1994

REVIEW EXCERPTS:

Booklist: “A delightful introduction to the subject and a memorable glimpse of one Mexican village and its people.”

School Library Journal: “Ancona has once again created a photo essay that brings his subject into lively and vibrant focus. A day in the life of Don Ricardo Nuñez Gijon, or Tio Rico, a piñata maker, is a busy round of artistry blended with practicality. The step-by-step creation of a swan, a star, and a carrot is described. The balance between text and illustration is masterful, and both the English and Spanish narratives have an easy flow. Tio Rico is a matter-of-fact yet charming character; along with illuminating his craft, Ancona shows the man's place in his village. By the end of the book, children will understand more about Mexican culture and values. A loving introduction to Hispanic customs, lifestyles in Mexico, and the art of piñata production.”

CONNECTIONS:

Author’s website: www.georgeancona.com

Mexican Folk Art: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_handcrafts_and_folk_art

Piñata history: http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/459-history-of-the-pi%C3%B1ata

Information about Ejutla de Crespo, Oaxaca: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ejutla_de_Crespo

Piñata making website: http://www.pinataboy.com/index.html

 

Delicious Hullabaloo/ Pachanga deliciosa

Delicious Hullabaloo/ Pachanga deliciosa

By Pat Mora
Illustrated by Francisco X. Mora

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Mora, Pat. (1998). DELICIOUS HULLABALOO/PACHANGA DELICIOSA.
        Illustrated by Francisco X. Mora. Translated by Alba Nora Martinez and Pat Mora.
        Houston, Texas: Arte Publico Press. ISBN 1-55885-246-8.

PLOT SUMMARY:

Tonight, young and old
dance to moon and starlight too,
join in the fiesta,
the delicious hullabaloo.

This delightful, bilingual picture book is a roaring good time! The lizards, armadillos, bees, bird, and fish enjoy each other’s company along with good music and good food.  Some prepare the food, some play the music, some talk about plans for the future, and some reminisce about past times—but all enjoy the celebration of food, friends, and togetherness.

 

CRITICAL ANALYSIS:

The desert southwest is portrayed in this colorful picture book with geometric designs on not only the pages and the table, but on the animals as well. The animals portrayed are the lizards, the armadillos, as well as bees, a bird, and a fish. The desert environment is evident in the light brown shade of the sand and the bright green of the cactus. The Hispanic flavor of the poem shows in the instruments the animals play during the party: the maracas and guitars. The choice of party foods is also indicative of the Hispanic culture: salsa made of chiles, tomatoes, and cilantro in a molcajete; a variety of pan dulce, sweet bread; the steaming hot chocolate is in an olla de barro para chocolate, a clay chocolate pot, and the molinillo used for frothing the chocolate is seen sticking out; and finally, the variety of fruits include mangoes, bananas, oranges, cherries, pears and apples.

The animals get together to play music, sing songs, dance, eat good food, and tell cuentos, stories. This is a great example of Hispanic get-togethers where family and friends spend the night talking, laughing, singing, and enjoy being with one another.

The text of the picture book has the poem first presented in English and then the Spanish translation at the bottom of the page. The English verse is interspersed with some Spanish words such as: amigos, lagartijas, musica, cerezas dulces, salsa, cuentos, and fiesta. There is no English translation for the above words, but the context of the poem and the accompanying pictures let the reader know what the words mean. For example, the word lagartijas means lizards. The picture on the opposite page clearly shows the lizards eating the delicious fruit. There is no glossary provided, but again, this is not a necessity since the pictures and the poem itself do a good job of helping the reader figure out the meaning of the Spanish words.

The alliteration is especially delightful in this poem. Some examples are: “pluck and play,” “soon start to sway,” “red roundness,” “plot and plan,” “sassy salsa splashing,” “birds bring blooms,” and “bees buzz”.

AWARDS:

Pat Mora’s Literary Awards:

Loretto Legacy Award for Arts and Literature, 200th Jubilee on the Border, Sisters of Loretto, El Paso, Texas, September, 2012

Con Tinta Achievement for Literary Activism, Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP), Chicago Il, March, 2012

Literary Legacy Award, El Paso Community College, 2010

Luis Leal Award for Distinction in Chicano/Latino Letters, University

            of California at Santa Barbara, 2008

The University of Southern Mississippi Medallion for Outstanding

           Contributions to Children's Literature, Hattiesburg,

           Mississippi, 2008 (photo at right)

Roberta Long Medal for Distinguished Contributions to Celebrating

             the Cultural Diversity of Children, University of Alabama at

             Birmingham, 2007

National Hispanic Cultural Center Literary Award, Albuquerque, NM, 2006

"Literary Lights for Children," Associates of the Boston Public

             Library, 2002

"100 Library Champions," Texas Library Association Centennial, 2002

Ohioana Award in Children's Literature, Ohioana Library Association, (for body of work and contributions to children's literature), 2000

Pellicer-Frost Bi-national Poetry Award, Ford Foundation, FEMAP Foundation, and Museo de Arte e Historia del INBA-Cd.  Juárez, 1999

Poetry Award, Conference of Cincinnati Women, 1990

Authors of the Pass: El Paso Herald-Post Writers Hall of Fame, 1988

Texas Institute of Letters, 1987 (Elected to)

Literary Award, Harvey L. Johnson Book Award, Southwest Council of Latin American Studies, 1984

Creative Writing Award, National Association for Chicano Studies, Ypsilanti, Michigan, 1983

Poetry Award, New America: Women Artists and Writers of the Southwest, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1982

 

REVIEW EXCERPTS:

Publishers Weekly: "Poetic Fiesta. Colorful Southwestern motifs add spice to the starlight feast of reveling lizards and armadillos … The fun, lilting text praises hot food, summer nights and good amigos."

Booklist: "Lime lizards and purple armadillos sashay to the music and rhyming text in this simple story of a desert dinner party. Presented bilingually with a Spanish translation  … this western frolic is winsomely illustrated  … Serve this one up with salsa and mariachi music."

Ohioana Quarterly: "Some lizards have a colorful fiesta eating fruit, making salsa, and drinking moonlight on a wonderful evening in this delightful English and Spanish poetic tale. So much fun you’ll wish you could join them."

San Antonio Express-News: "Lively and colorful illustrations of dancing armadillos and salsa making lizards abound in this savory book. Mora’s poetic language and the sun-washed colors of the character animals and their food make this book a delight for the senses—it’s hard not to cha-cha while reading it aloud."

Jacob Angel, first grader, review in the Albuquerque Journal: "I liked it when the armadillo said, "Quick! Call our amigos." Did you know amigos means friends in Spanish? This book was written in English and Spanish. My nana who lives with me read me this book. She speaks Spanish real good. The animals are having a party, the Spanish part is pachanga. The lagartijas (small lizards) like mangoes and the pajartias (little birds) ate sweet cherries. The armadillos ate salsa and the small lizards played música with guitarras. This book was fun to read. Bailaban after all the animals ate. That means they danced."

CONNECTIONS:

Author’s website: www.patmora.com

Curriculum activities: http://www.patmora.com/ideas.htm#hullabaloo

Study guide for the book:  http://www.latinoteca.com/code/artePublicoPress/Publications/arte-publico-press/educational-resources/teacher-guides/pinatabooks-for-children/Delicious%20Hullabaloo%20Study%20Guide.pdf/view

 

 

 

 

Buried Onions

Buried Onions

By Gary Soto

Bibliography:

Soto, Gary. (1997). BURIED ONIONS. Orlando: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0-15-206265-3.

Plot Summary:

Nineteen-year-old, Mexican-American Eddie is ready to break free of the violence and gang life in Fresno, California. He has suffered through the deaths of his father, his uncles, his best friend Juan, and his cousin Jesus. Drowning in sorrow, Eddie imagines that there are giant onions buried beneath the city that causes the never ending tears. His aunt wants Jesus’s death avenged, but he is determined to avoid trouble and to do something with his life. He works hard, but the trouble in Fresno seems to follow him. Will Eddie ever rise above the gang violence and despair and escape the buried onions by joining the military? Will he be trapped and eventually taken in by the pull of his environment, by situations beyond his control? Read Buried Onions to find out if there is hope for Eddie, a future beyond the gang-filled violence of Fresno.

Critical Analysis:

Soto sets the scene of the novel by describing the poor, run-down neighborhood that Eddie lives in. In this part of Fresno, the fences sag and the houses are covered with peeling paint. The laundry hangs from the lines “the faded flags of poor, ignorant, unemployable people. Some guys, all of them Mexican like me, worked on their cars . . .” (p.2). In contrast, the white neighborhoods have deep green lawns, bright flowerbeds and the people keep to themselves (p.4). On page 101, Eddie describes his bus ride to the north side of Fresno: “We went north toward the newer houses, where it was Fresno yet not Fresno. It was another place altogether, foreign and scrubbed. I felt like I was walking inside the pages of Sunset magazine. It was pretty cool, yet scary. Everyone was blond.”

Spanish words are interspersed throughout the text of the novel and are not necessarily translated. The meaning of the word is implied through context or provided in a glossary that is included at the end of the novel. The use of the Spanish words is natural and completely appropriate in the conversations of the characters. Coming from a Mexican-American background, I can attest to the frequent code-switching between English and Spanish amongst friends and family.

Soto points out the cultural difference of the Mexican-American characters, especially in the gang culture by describing the many spider-like tattoos covering the arms of the young men and the teardrop tattoos adorning the faces of the cholas. The young boys and young men wear the “uniform” of the gang member which includes a hair net, bandana, and Dickies cut off at the knees. Angel who is a gang member and even young Samuel are described as wearing this type of clothing. The depiction of this type of clothing is not a stereotype, but a true depiction of some Mexican American gang members. This comes from my own experiences growing up and from the author’s background as well.

Soto peppers the text with references to Eddie’s skin color. On page 130, Eddie is sneaking into Angel’s yard and the dog stops barking because he looks like Angel, “brown as dirt”. On page 5 Eddie says, “My face was no different from the face of a brown person lucky enough to hold down a city job.” And on page 10, the kids are described as “all shiny brown”.

 The book is sad and the reader can feel Eddie’s hopelessness, “For me, there wasn’t much to do except eat and sleep, watch out for drive-bys . . .” (p. 3), for his world is one of guns hidden in sock drawers, gang violence by those who still wear a crucifix around their necks, and hiding out—afraid of the phone and afraid of who might be at the door. But Eddie is different. He wants another life, he wants to start a new life and leave the drugs and violence behind. While some may criticize this depiction of a Mexican American character for being stereotypical and indicating that all young Mexican American men are gang members, drug users, and violent, I found it to be a realistic and gritty picture of what life is like for some Mexican Americans who live in barrios in the city. It’s not a pretty picture, but it is reality for some. This book is so important in that it can give an urban Latino teen a connection to literature if they see some part of their life or some part of their experiences in it. Quoting Frida Kahlo, Gary Soto has “painted his own reality” and it is the reality of many Hispanic teens.

 

Awards:

A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

An ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers

Americas Award Commended Book

Recommended by the Consortium of Latin American Studies Program

Review Excerpts:

Kirkus Reviews: “Unrelenting . . . a valuable tale . . . one that makes no concessions.”

School Library Journal: “A powerful and thought-provoking read.”

Booklist: “Soto’s clear, finely honed poet’s voice shines in this tale of barrio life.”

Connections:

The author’s website: www.garysoto.com

A blog promoting Latino authors and literacy: http://www.latinabookclub.com/

A website dedicated to Hispanic Heritage: http://hispanicheritagemonth.gov/

Young Adult Latino Literature:  http://ccb.lis.illinois.edu/Projects/Additions%20on%209-20-07/CCB/CCB/mhommel2/youngadult.htm

Austin Public Library Hispanic Teen Literature: http://www.connectedyouth.org/books/index.cfm?booklist=hispanicteen