Central & South America Books

City of the Beasts

Isabel Allende

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 92 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

bienvenidos a la selva de los clichés y del aburrimiento 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Leí la mitad de este libro. Isabel Allende escribe con un español fácil de comprender para un lector (como yo) que no sea hablante nativo del español. El cuento promete ser interesante: un chico acompaña a su abuela a la selva amazona a encontrar "la bestia" (o sea, "bigfoot" en inglés). Pero no te asustes, cada persona en esta novela se conforma a su papel estereotipado. Los nativos son profundamente espirituales, muy pegados a la naturaleza, y sin egoísmo ningún. El antropólogo está pintado de una forma tan exagerada que me pareció farsa: solo habla de los nativos sanguinarios (quienes no lo son), tiene miedo de su propia sombra, y es altamente sexista. Las mujeres son sensatas y los hombres insensatos, etcétera, etcétera.

Además, una vez que el grupo de exploradores se mete en la jungla, el libro se vuelve aburrido. Dos niños (incluso el protagonista) son secuestrados por unos nativos (pacíficos si no haces caso al secuestro) y Allende pasa mucho tiempo describiendo esta tribu idílica, todos compartiendo todo.

No es decir que nosotros en el oeste no podemos aprender de las culturas menos industrializadas. Seguro que sí podemos, pero el dibujo que pinta Allenda es tan blanco y negro que nada se parece a la vida real. Es una caricatura no más, pero no hace gracia.

[Es el segundo libro de Allenda que he dejado sin terminar. El otro fue Ines del alma mia, en el cual el personaje principal me pareció tan anacrónico que no lo aguanté. Algún día leo uno de sus libros clásicos, como La casa de los espíritus.]

Editorial Review:

Fifteen-year-old Alexander Cold is about to join his fearless grandmother on the trip of a lifetime. An International Geographic expedition is headed to the dangerous, remote wilds of South America, on a mission to document the legendary Yeti of the Amazon known as the Beast.

But there are many secrets hidden in the unexplored wilderness, as Alex and his new friend Nadia soon discover. Drawing on the strength of their spirit guides, both young people are led on a thrilling and unforgettable journey to the ultimate discovery. . . .

The Most Beautiful Place in the World

Ann Cameron

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Moust Beutiful Plas 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

The story that I read was really snappy and cool. It's called The Most Beautiful Place in the World By Ann Cameron. There was a boy named Juan and his grandmother. There was also Juan's mom. It takes place in San Pablo, Guatamala. The problem is she leaves him for ever and his mom doesn't let him visit her. He really loves his mom after his dad left them.Some one would want to read this book because its really sad and who ever loves tragedy or not it's a really good book.I recommend this book to people of any age.

Editorial Review:

"Seven-year-old Juan lives in Guatemala, a place of stunning beauty and grim economic reality. Abandoned by his mother, Juan lives with his grandmother and shines shoes. He passionately wants to attend school, but fears Grandmother will say no. Finally gathering his courage, he is surprised when she not only agrees to send him to school but also chides him about the importance of standing up for himself. Juan tells this bittersweet story, which reads smoothly and powerfully on several levels, with warmth and dignity."--Booklist.  

Off We Go to Mexico

Laurie Krebs

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Lovely book 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

This is a lovely book and a favorite of my daughter (now 5) and son (3). It includes a map, andif you know any Mexican geography, you can point out different places mentioned in the book to your kids. It has a lovely flowing rhythm to the words.

Editorial Review:

Adapted from the traditional folk song with the refrain with a knick-knack, paddy whack give a dog a bone, this old man came rolling home, Barefoot s new version features a parade of children from different cultures, each of them playing a different musical instrument.

Elena's Serenade (Americas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature. Commended (Awards))

Campbell Geeslin

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths -> Multicultural

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A delightfully fresh take on the "anything you can do, I can do better" theme, Elena's Serenade follows a feisty little Mexican girl on a quest to prove to her father--and herself--that she can be a glassblower, even if she is a girl. Magic realism abounds as Elena journeys (dressed as a boy) to Monterrey to learn from the great glassblowers. Along the way she meets a burro, a roadrunner, and a coyote, helping each of them accomplish their goals as she blows tunes through her father's cast-off glassblowing pipe. Arriving in Monterrey, our little "muchacho" is mocked at first, but soon silences her detractors (who continue to think she's a boy) when she creates beautiful glass stars through her pipe. If only her Papa could see what she can do! Perhaps if she blows a giant bird (golondrina), she can fly home.

A lovely story penned by Campbell Geeslin, with lyrical acrylic and crayon art by the illustrator of Jonah Winter's Frida, Ana Juan. Readers will revel in the whole experience--words, pictures, message, and all. (Ages 4 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

Finding Miracles (Readers Circle)

Julia Alvarez

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A tale of Milagros (miracles) 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Julie Alvarez's ("How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent") newest novel "Finding Miracles" is the story of Milly Milagros Kaufman, a typical all-American, half-Jewish high schooler with a not-so-typical secret: Milly was adopted as an infant from a war-torn Latin American country, where her adopted parents were serving in the Peace Corps. Milly has managed to successfully keep this info from her best friend Em, friends Jake and Dylan, and the community at large, because thinking about her sickly beginnings at an orphanage dredged up too many painful questions about why she was abandoned at the doorstep, who her birth parents may have been and if they "disappeared" during the dictatorship.

Milly is forced to confront her past when Pablo Bolívar joins her grade at high school. Pablo and his parents are refugees from Milly's home country (which is never named). One of his uncles was murdered, one of his brothers is a prisoner, and the other a revolutionary. Pablo asks Milly to help him with English in exchange for practicing Spanish, and one day makes a comment that changes Milly's life: he tells her that her eyes look like those of the mountain village Los Luceros. Also, Milly overhears an angry family discussion in which her unhappy grandmother Happy effectively writes her out of her will as she is not a "blood" relation.

Milly begins to slowly examine her feelings by confronting "The Box," a mahogany box containing her adoption papers, naturalization papers, two locks of hair (one light, one dark), a coin, and several photos, and in a brave speech running for a class office, tells the story of her adoption to the school at large. The second half of the novel chronicles Milly's journey to her homeland. When Milly's home country is freed from tyranny and democracy is slowly put into place, she takes up Mrs. Bolívar's invitation to visit, searching for traces of her shadowy past. Milly and Paco become more than just friends, bonded by the shared sadness of having lost loved ones in the war.

The novel does not have a "fairy tale" ending where everything works out perfectly, but the ending provided a satisfying conclusion to Milly's journey. Realistically written and beautifully described, Alvarez captures a girl torn between cultures, languages, and her past, and how Milly, now Milagros, makes all the pieces fit.

Editorial Review:

MILLY KAUFMAN IS an ordinary American teenager living in Vermont—until she meets Pablo, a new student at her high school. His exotic accent, strange fashion sense, and intense interest in Milly force her to confront her identity as an adopted child from Pablo’s native country. As their relationship grows, Milly decides to undertake a courageous journey to her homeland and along the way discovers the story of her birth is intertwined with the story of a country recovering from a brutal history.

Beautifully written by reknowned author Julia Alvarez, Finding Miracles examines the emotional complexity of familial relationships and the miracles of everyday life.


From the Hardcover edition.

Grab Hands and Run

Frances Temple

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A Great Book! 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

This book is great! I think you can learn a lot from a book like
this because some people think coming here is easy but you find
out it's not.Grab Hands and Run is good because it gives lots of
details so it's easy to picture the story in your mind. I think the author
did a good job by writting this story because it teaches about the lessons in life and how families have to stick together no matter how hard or difficult the problem is.

GRAB HANDS AND RUN! 1 out of 5 stars.
0 of 8 people found this review helpful.

Jeez! I hated this book! I could not stay focussed or even remember what happened because it was soooo boring! It's the worst book I ever read! I had to read it for school, that's the only reason I did read it. Now, I have a test on the book, and I'm probably going to do bad, because I don't know what happened! It was just way to boring for me and I hated it so much that i couldn't remember anything that happened. NOW IM GONNA FAIL CUZ THIS STUPID BOOK!

Editorial Review:

An El Salvadorian family flees political oppression in their homeland and takes a perilous journey north, through Mexico to America, where they hope they will finda better life. A `compelling, provocative, and exciting novel.'—V. `Details of the brutal realities in El Salvador are dexterously woven into the story of one family's struggle to beat the odds.'—Publishers Weekly. `Not to be missed.'—H.

The Outside Dog (I Can Read Book 3)

Charlotte Pomerantz

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Animals -> Dogs -> Fiction

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

a grandfather's love 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

Marisol and her grandfather really caught my daughter's attention. My daughter is only 3 years old but was enraptured by the story because she could relate to Marisol and her love for her Abuelito and how he cares for her to let her have the dog in the end. My daughter loves her own "Ah Kong" (grandfather in chinese)and I think this easy to follow story lets her see into another child's love for their grandfather and value his guidance and how a grandfather cannot stand to see their grandchildren unhappy.

The Outside Dog 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Have you ever wanted a dog? The book I been reading is "The Outside Dog". The book is about a little girl who lived with her grandfather they lived in this small uillage. They have Three neghbors. One Day, they woke up and found all kinds of dogs in their yard. The granpa had scard them off, the little girl was made. But her grandfather explaned to her that if he didn't do that they will have flies and ticks. But the next day, the dog came back to the little girl's house and that is when the grandpa said, ok we can keep it.
I liked the book because it reminded me about my first dog that I had my dad didn't want to keep it because it might of had flies and ticks. Thats why I liked the book.
I woul like anyone who wants to read a good story i know it is a little kids book but it gets your attentchen.

Editorial Review:

I Can Read Books are widely recognized as the premier line of beginning readers. Inaugurated with Else Holmelund Minarik'S LITTLE BEAR, illustrated by Maurice Sendak, the series has grown to over 200 titles that include mysteries, adventure stories, poetry, historical fiction, and humor. Featuring the finest authors and illustrators, I Can Read Books introduce children to the joy of reading independently.

Mario's Mayan Journey

Michelle McCunney

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

terrific 5 out of 5 stars.
7 of 9 people found this review helpful.

Mario's Mayan Journey is a great book. It has a very realistic story and terrific pictures. I read it just a few weeks before going to the Mayan ruins.

Love it! 5 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I really love this book, and I use it in many of my classes. It gives a lot practical infomation about ancient Mayan times in a fun way for kids to enjoy!

Editorial Review:

Mario awoke with a start, and when he went outside, two Mayan children were waiting for him. Join Mario and his friends as they explore the land of the ancient Maya. Full color.

Tap-Tap

Karen Lynn Williams

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Sweet but not sugar-coated 4 out of 5 stars.
19 of 20 people found this review helpful.

This is a sweet little book. The illustrations are beautiful watercolors with lots of detail that will appeal to young inquisitive eyes. (I know because I tested it on my favorite three year old.) The story is a simple one of a trip to market and a more interesting trip back to the village. A story of wanting, of responsibility, and of reward. I think books that share even a glimpse of another culture to our American children are very valuable. This book could raise many important questions in children who have no concept of being so poor you must walk everywhere you go. It offers that glimpse without being harsh in anyway. As I said, its sweet and yet one notices our main characters have no shoes for their feet. The writing is beautiful and reads well out loud. It is a simple enough story that most third graders can read it for themselves. Its also informative for adults. Now I know why the Haitian jitney is called a Tap-Tap. Tap-Tap gets a high recommendation.

Editorial Review:

Sasifi longs to ride a tap-tap, a truck that carries passengers and their belongings in rural Haiti.

My Mexico / México mío

Tony Johnston

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Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Poetry -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Wonderful Collection of Poems about Mexico 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.

The book My Mexico - Mio Mexico is an interesting collection of poems about life in Mexico that reaches a broad spectrum of younger readers. As a middle school teacher of Spanish, these poems are excellent examples of the differing views of Mexico - from the lament for the Aztecs in "Donde Estan?" to the poem "Soy Cucuracha" which is humorous and sure to make your students think and laugh! I would highly recommend this book to any Spanish or ESL teacher who desires to integrate culture and poetry into his or her lessons! My students have thoroughly enjoyed the poems we have studied from this book! Bravo y bien hecho!

Editorial Review:

Sway to the sounds, reach for the colors, dance to the rhythms, and you will find your own Mexico in these poems in both English and Spanish. "Johnston regales the senses with idyllic scenes of streets lined with a rainbow of adobe houses, with the scent of roses growing in coffee cans and lilies in chile jars, and with the sounds of fields of corn shaking quietly in the warm wind. The overall impression is one of sunbaked cheerfulness, warmth, and color ably reinforced by Sierra's pastel-tinted artwork." -- The Horn Book