BOOK DESCRIPTION

This delightful cumulative text, in both English and Spanish, radiates the joy of holiday traditions and the warmth of family love. An excellent book for emergent readers, which can easily be transformed into a simple play. Illustrated with powerful colors by Terry Ibáñez.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Christmas was always a very special season of the year for me as a child, and later a wonderful time to share with my children and our large family. Some of the names of the characters in the story are names of real members of my family like my son Alfonso, and my wonderful aunt Mireya. For some real life information on our unusual Christmas celebration, you can look up “Christmas for All” (in Under the Royal Palms) “Navidades para todos” (en Bajo las palmas reales).

REVIEWS

School Library Journal

The meter and appealing rhyme scheme of the cumulative verses apparent in the Spanish text are missing in the English version. The simple story centers on a Christmas tree and the joy it brings to those who assemble to decorate it. Straightforward sentences describe, first in English, then in Spanish, one thing that each family member contributes to the tree. As each decoration is repeated, the refrain grows longer. “Look at the beautiful Christmas tree/with the bright candle/Grandma lit,/the candy cane/Grandpa hung,/the sleigh/Uncle Irineo painted,” etc. The artwork, done in acrylic paint on black paper, features deeply saturated background shades of red, orange, blue, green, and violet. The figures are portrayed in a primitive, folk-art style and the dark hues chosen for the backgrounds and festive, decorative borders give them depth and texture. A visually attractive addition especially for bilingual and Spanish-language collections.

Publishers Weekly

“One by one members of a family add decorations to their Christmas tree, and Ada’s cumulative text charts their offerings –from Grandma’s candle to Uncle Irineo’s painted sleight ornament. With a line of text in English followed by the line in rhyming Spanish, the quiet graceful narrative is complemented by Ybáñez’s folk-art style illustrations, rendered in acrylic on black paper. Simple borders start out incorporating a single visual element –candy cane, stars, a spring of evergreen –and grow gradually more intricate as additional ornaments are added.” (Publishers Weekly, October 1997).

School Library Journal

“[…] The simple story centers on a Christmas tree and the joy it brings to those who assemble to decorate it. Straightforward sentences describe, first in English, then in Spanish, one thing that each family member contributes to the tree. As each decoration is repeated the refrain grows longer. “Look at the beautiful Christmas tree / with the candy cane / Grandpa hung, / the sleigh / Uncle Irineo painted,” etc. The art work, done in acrylic paint on black paper, features deeply saturated background shades of red, orange, blue, green, and violet. The figures are portrayed in a primitive folk-art style and the dark hues chosen for the backgrounds and festive decorative borders give them depth and texture. A visually attractive addition especially for bilingual and Spanish-language collections.” (School Library Journal, November 1997).

READERS’ RESPONSES

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Bilingual Anthology of Folklore for Young Children

RECOGNITIONS

Notable Book in the area of Language Arts by National Book Council
Best Ten Books for Babies, Beginning with Books, Center for Early Literacy
Best Book of the Year, Nick Jr. Magazine
Media Award, Parent’s Guide to Children’s Media
100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, New York Public Library
Books of the Year Award, Parenting Magazines
2 x 2 Reading List, Texas Library Association
Starred Review, School Library Journal
Starred Review, Críticas
Miami Herald Best Books of the Year

BOOK DESCRIPTION

El sol es de oro
la luna es de plata
y las estrellitas
son de hoja de lata.

The sun’s a gold medallion
The moon’s a silver ball.
The little stars are only tin;
I love them best of all.

Here is a groundbreaking bilingual collection of traditional rhymes that celebrates childhood and Spanish and Latin American heritage. From playing dress up to making tortillas, and from rising at daybreak to falling asleep, these joyful rhymes are sure to delight young readers.

Passed down from generation to generation, the twenty-nine rhymes included have been lovingly selected by distinguished authors Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy. English adaptations by Alice Schertle capture the spirit of each rhyme and have a charm all their own. Accompanied by enchanting illustrations by Spanish artist Viví Escrivá, this collection is destined to become a beloved classic for children already familiar with the rhymes as well as those encountering them for the first time.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The treasuries of the folklore, whether rhymes, riddles, songs or tongue twisters were precious gifts in my childhood. In gratitude for the joy they gave me I have tried to share them in multiple forms, within poetry anthologies, like Días y días de poesía, Gorrión gorrión, and in books, like Mama Goose, MooMuu, Merry Navidad and many others. I have written about my childhood experiences with these folk traditions in the book Pin Pin Sarabín. I hope you find as much joy sharing this book as I had during its compilation.

REVIEWS

School Library Journal

Pre-School–Grade 2: Following in the tradition of Margot Griego’s Tortillitas para Mama (Holt, 1995) and Jose-Luis Orozco’s Diez deditos (Dutton, 1997) comes this stellar collection of nursery rhymes. Selected from the rich oral tradition of Latin America and the American Southwest, most of the verses are known throughout the Spanish-speaking world. The rhymes cover everything from early morning birds to elephants to angels, and the reason for their enduring popularity is clear. Deeply rhythmic verses, compelling rhyme schemes, and words that “play trippingly on the tongue” characterize every verse. Schertle’s excellent English adaptations are not literal translations but poetic re-creations. They retain the rhythm, meter, and general meaning of the originals, making the rhymes as memorable and memorizable in English as they are in Spanish. Escriv ‘s watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations use brilliant hues and detail to reconstruct a young child’s world. Certain to become a staple for preschool and early elementary programs, this offering is also a wonderful, reassuring lap book. A must-purchase for libraries. © 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Booklist

PreSchool: As the preface to this delightful book states, nursery rhymes and songs are an important part of Spanish oral folklore. The 29 rhymes here–some accompanied by finger plays or games, and some simply meant to be chanted on their own–in most cases came to the Americas from Spain. They are presented both in Spanish and in English, although “to preserve the charm of the original rhymes,” the English versions are not translations but “poetic recreations.” Even adult readers with a rudimentary knowledge of Spanish will see some of the differences, but both versions have a sweet, rhythmic simplicity that will get children singing, clapping, and perhaps making some forays into a new language. The watercolor illustrations, featured prominently on the page, are a mix of historical and contemporary, generic Latin American scenes, and pictures of animals (not Escriva’s artistic strong suit). Parents, teachers, and librarians will find a multitude of uses. –Ilene Cooper.

Grandma’s Book Letter

GRANDMA RECOMMENDS… FOR BABIES AND TODDLERS:
¡Pío Peep! Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes, selected by Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy.

The authors tell us that Spanish oral folklore is rich in nursery rhymes and songs, some are fragments of ancient medieval ballads while others are old harvest songs. Ada and Campoy have gathered some of the best known and most loved rhymes in this lively bilingual edition.

…

Give the gift of another culture to wee ones this season with a bilingual bedtime reading of “Pio Peep: Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes.” Vivi Escriva catches the eye with bright watercolors while Alice Schertle preserves the sing-song sound as the 29 rhymes move from Spanish to English. The result of one translation is, “Rice Pudding / rice pudding / it’s married I’ll be / I’ll find in the city / the right girl for me.” — Linda Piwowarczyk

Great Kids Books

I really enjoy sharing poetry and stories from other cultures with young children. Here is a wonderful collection of traditional Spanish nursery rhymes and songs, in both Spanish and English. It’s perfect for toddlers and young children, but would also be great to explore with slightly older children who are leaning Spanish… More »

READERS’ RESPONSES

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JwecWt24UE

If you have enjoyed reading or sharing this book, I would very much like to hear from you. Please click here to send your comments.

RECOGNITIONS

Best-selling Book!
Once Upon A World Book Award, Simon Weisenthal Center, 1998
NCSS/CBC Notable Book in the area of Social Studies, National Council of Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council
Pura Belpré Honor Book, American Library Association 1997
NCTE Notable Book in Language Arts, National Council of Teachers of English
“Pick of the Lists” American Booksellers Association
California Readers’ Collection, Elementary List
Commended List, Center for Latin American Studies

BOOK DESCRIPTION

The author’s many years of work with migrant families inspired this poetic ABC of the fields, in two languages, and Simón Silva’s magnificent illustrations, in bold colors, have created a work of art to be enjoyed by children and adults alike. (K-12).

CD DESCRIPTION

Suni Paz has drawn from her extensive knowledge of Latin American folklore for the inspirational music that turns the poems in this book into memorable songs, an irresistible invitation to listen, to enjoy, to sing along.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

Some of the most heartening experiences of my life have been my work with Migrant Farm Working families. I have described the academic results of sharing high quality children’s books with Migrant parents and inviting them to create books with their children in Pájaro Valley, California in the book A Magical Encounter: Use of Latino Literature in the Classroom. I have described my work with farm working parents, and the learning I derived from it, in my memoirs, Vivir en dos idiomas.

The poems of Gathering the Sun were born out of these enriching experiences. Simón Silva, who knew intimately the life in the fields during his childhood and has drawn from the heritage of the great Mexican muralists provided strong and magnificent illustrations that have made this book the true homage to the farm workers lives and struggles that I dreamt to create.

It has given me unsurpassable joy to sign this book for golden anniversaries of grandparents and for birthday gifts, for quinceañeras, newborn babies and babies yet to be born, realizing that in each case the book is a symbol of the strength, the resilience, the determination, the dignity and the profound love of family of those who work in the fields and whose labor allows us all to live.

Suni’s unique voice and her masterful compositions have allowed the words in this book to transcend their birth as poems becoming unforgettable songs. My gratitude to Suni and Simón, for allowing this homage to César Chávez and all campesinos to be as inspiring as his example and their lives.

REVIEWS

School Library Journal

Pre-School-Grade 5. An alphabet book with exceptional illustrations and excellent poetry that gives voice to the experience of Hispanic agricultural workers. Each letter is matched with a Spanish word (for example, “Arboles” for “A”) and accompanied by a poem in both Spanish and English that describes how the plant, fruit, vegetable, person, or feeling functions in the lives of these workers. Zubizarreta’s English translations are informed and graceful, but predictably cannot match the Spanish originals in rhythm, assonance, or meter. Silva’s vibrant, double-page, gouache illustrations are reminiscent of the artwork of Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco. The colors are brilliant, and the scope has a certain larger-than-life sense to it. This is a book that begs to be read aloud to all students, whether they are Spanish speaking or not. The sound of the poems will draw them in. The touching elegy for Cesar Chavez successfully imparts the impact of a heroic man on his people. Whether used to show the plight of migrant workers or the pride Hispanic laborers feel in their heritage, this is an important book. –Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Booklist

Ages 5–8. Using the Spanish alphabet as a template, Ada has written 27 poems that celebrate both the bounty of the harvest and the Mexican heritage of the farmworkers and their families. The poems, presented in both Spanish and English, are short and simple bursts of flavor: “Árboles/Trees,” “Betabel/Beet,” “César Chávez,” etc. Silva’s sun-drenched gouache paintings are robust, with images sculpted in paint. Brimming with respect and pride, the book, with its mythic vision of the migrant farm worker, will add much to any unit on farming or Mexican American heritage. Annie Ayres

Curled Up with a Good Kid’s Book

Tapping into a rich cultural history of people working the land and harvesting its bounty, Gathering the Sun is brilliantly illustrated, a delightful adventure into the world of language and art, of “simple words and sun-drenched paintings.” More than just an alphabet book, it teaches children the basics of language in the context of family and tradition.

The illustrated alphabet is Spanish, text in both Spanish and English: “arboles (trees), “the companions of my childhood”; duraznos (peaches), “like a gentle caress in the palm of my hand”; tomates (tomatoes), “red tomato in the kitchen, in the little tacos my godmother loves to make”; zanahoria (carrot), “The carrot hides beneath the earth. After all, she knows the sun’s fiery color by heart.”

Through the text by Alma Flor Ada and wonderful art of Simon Silva, beginning readers explore orchards and fields beside those who plant and nurture the crops, the book dedicated to the living memory of César Chávez: “Your example and your words sprout anew in the field rows as seedlings of quiet hope.”

In a joyful celebration of tilling, toiling and the language of nature’s bounty, the text is bilingual, with particular attention to the harmony of words and the images wrought from the earth’s palette, the cycle of growth and those who labor to carry their fruits from field to kitchen, from the hands that tend the plants to those who prepare the spicy and textured foods that grace the tables of grateful families: “In the field row lies a seed, all tucked in like a baby in the crib.”

Gathering the Sun is nothing less than stunning, saturated with color and the shared dignity of hard work, a reflection of the author and illustrator’s appreciation for all aspects of growth, from field to heart to spirit, acknowledging “honor and pride, family and friends, history and heritage, and… the bounty of the harvest.“
–Luan Gaines/2006 for Curled Up with a Good Kid’s Book

papertiger.org

Whole World of ABCs and 123s
In her selection of bilingual books for reading to children, librarian Ana-Elba Pavon said of this beautiful, verse abecedario: it is “a tribute to working in the fields. A collection of poems, it includes Cesar Chavez, individual fruits and vegetables, and other Latino symbols. Use the poem under the letter “O” for “Orgullo” or “Pride” as a chant with your audience. Have them repeat each verse of the poem after you read it.” Absolutely!

Gathering the Sun: An Alphabet in Spanish and English by the prolific author Alma Flor Ada is by definition an alphabet book, but is a tribute to working in the fields. A collection of poems, it includes Cesar Chavez, individual fruits and vegetables, and other Latino symbols. Use the poem under the letter “O” for “Orgullo” or “Pride” as a chant with your audience. Have them repeat each verse of the poem after you read it.– Marjorie Coughlan

CITATIONS

The Children’s Literature Lover’s Book of Lists by Joanna Sullivan on page 64, page 278, and page 333
Valerie & Walter’s Best Books for Children 2nd Ed : A Lively, Opinionated Guide by Walter M. Mayes on page 41, and Index
In Sweet Company: Conversations with Extraordinary Women about Living a Spiritual Life by Margaret Wolff on page 69
The Reading Teacher’s Book of Lists (J-B Ed: Book of Lists) by Edward Bernard Fry on page 159
“Let’s Read : A Complete Month-by-Month Activities Program for Beginning Readers” by Elizabeth Crosby Stull in Back Matter

Image Gallery

READERS’ RESPONSES

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BOOK DESCRIPTION

A grandmother’s story of her childhood in rural Mexico and her family’s decision to come to the United States allows her granddaughter to feel pride in their family legacy of endurance and courage. This is an ideal book for exploring issues of migration, immigration and family legacies.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

My work of many years with migrant farm working families has been one of the most enriching experiences in my life. I reflect on how much I have been inspired by their lives of struggle and resilience, by their dignity and family values, in my memoirs Vivir en dos idiomas. These experiences have also inspired much of my writing. The poems of Gathering the Sun are a tribute to their lives. Suni Paz has created original music for those poems and recorded as songs in a CD with the same title. In the book Imágenes del pasado, I have included a piece, “Teatro campseino, ¡que florezca la luz!” about the important role of the Teatro campesino in the Farm workers struggle. Isabel Campoy and I have written the biographies of César Chavez, for the book Paths or Caminos in the series Gateways to the Sun or Puertas al sol and the biography of Luis Valdes for the book Voices or Voces of the same series.

In this book I have incorporated many anecdotes told to me by various families and by some of my doctoral students along the years. I wanted to create a coherent narrative that will show the plight of the Mexican campesinos, their love of family, and their determination to struggle to support their loved ones. The hard working spirit, the resilience, the solidarity, and the love passed on through generations in this story all reflect the values I have witnessed in hundreds of farm working families and wanted to honor.

READERS’ RESPONSES

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BOOK DESCRIPTION

The joy of flying kites brings together children and adults. A validation of family traditions and simple pastimes— and of the relationships between people and their natural environment.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

I am frequently asked, by children and adults alike, which, among the many books I have written is my favorite. I try to explain that I cherish each of my books, because I have written each one with love and they all have taught me something about myself. But I must confess that my books of memoirs, Where the Flame Trees Bloom or Allá donde florecen los framboyanes and Under the Royal Palms or Bajo las palmas reales, as well as those in the series Cuentos con Alma, have a special significance because with them I have not only tried to capture the days of my childhood but I have honored the multiple people who made my childhood memorable. These books, as well as the memoirs I have written for adult readers, Vivir en dos idiomas have been my way of thanking those who enriched my spirit and taught me so much about trying to honor each day the gift of life.

Some of the greatest joys in my childhood came from very simple activities, as I have shared in the five books of memoirs in the series Cuentos con Alma: The making of paper boats, in Barquitos de papel, the nursery rhyme games, in Pin pin sarabín, flying kites in Barriletes, the annual visit of the humble circus, in Días de circo and the street vendor’s calls in Pregones, all held joy and life lessons.

Flying kites, which in Cuba we called barriletes, was one the most beloved activities in my childhood. My father was a great kite maker and seeing him make the kites was as much a joy as flying them. I can see his careful hands smoothing the paper so that it would not have a single wrinkle, and can smell the “goma arábiga” , the golden pellets he boiled to create the glue.

My attempts, years later, to create kites for my own children inspired the book The Kite or El papalote.

READERS’ RESPONSES

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BOOK DESCRIPTION

The simple experience of sailing folded paper boats after a rain storm is a window into the relationship between father and daughter

AUTHOR’S NOTE

I am frequently asked, by children and adults alike, which, among the many books I have written is my favorite. I try to explain that I cherish each of my books, because I have written each one with love and they all have taught me something about myself. But I must confess that my books of memoirs, Where the Flame Trees Bloom or Allá donde florecen los framboyanes and Under the Royal Palms or Bajo las palmas reales, as well as those in the series Cuentos con Alma, have a special significance because with them I have not only tried to capture the days of my childhood but I have honored the multiple people who made my childhood memorable. These books, as well as the memoirs I have written for adult readers, Vivir en dos idiomas have been my way of thanking those who enriched my spirit and taught me so much about trying to honor each day the gift of life.

Some of the greatest joys in my childhood came from very simple activities, as I have shared in the five books of memoirs in the series Cuentos con Alma: The making of paper boats, in Barquitos de papel, the nursery rhyme games, in Pin pin sarabín, flying kites in Barriletes, the annual visit of the humble circus, in Días de circo and the street vendor’s calls in Pregones, all held joy and life lessons.

My father, a surveyor and professor of mathematics, was also very gifted with his hands and he found ways to teach in surprising ways. There was much more to rainy days than making paper boats, although I have chosen them as the center of this vignette which speaks above all the love of a father for his young daughter.

Paper boats have remained to this day a wonderful symbol for me. I have mentioned them also in the poem La lluvia, in Do, re, mi, ¡sí, sí! book #8 in Colección Música amiga series. It has been a great joy for me that Suni Paz would create wonderful music for that poem, which she has recorded in the Do, re, mi, ¡sí, sí! CD. And the joy of paper folding is the motive for Origami in Con ton y son, book # 5 in Colección Música amiga.

READERS’ RESPONSES

If you have enjoyed reading or sharing this book, I would very much like to hear from you. Please click here to send your comments.