Hairs/Pelitos

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Hairs
Review: Hairs Pelitos by Sandra Cisernos is an excellent resource for early childhood educators and parents. It is a bilingual story that describes the differences between family members' hair. It offers children the experience of diversity within one's own family and how we can accept the differences within our own family. As a teacher, the concept of diversity can be extended from family to community and beyond. The language is beautiful and can be used to demonstrate to children how a writer uses descriptive language. The story captures an up-close look at one example of wonder..how simple things mean a lot. Children can pull from their own family rituals, similarities and differences to write their own story.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Hairs
Review: Hairs Pelitos by Sandra Cisernos is an excellent resource for early childhood educators and parents. It is a bilingual story that describes the differences between family members' hair. It offers children the experience of diversity within one's own family and how we can accept the differences within our own family. As a teacher, the concept of diversity can be extended from family to community and beyond. The language is beautiful and can be used to demonstrate to children how a writer uses descriptive language. The story captures an up-close look at one example of wonder..how simple things mean a lot. Children can pull from their own family rituals, similarities and differences to write their own story.

Rating:
Summary: a warm tale
Review: Hairs- Pelitos, is a poetic short story about the various heads of hair in a family. Mama's is the most wonderful as it carries with it the odor of fresh baked bread, a smell the narrator associates with being close to mama. Difficult to capture in a short review, I recommend this book to those who appreciate poetry and lyricism within a short story for children. It is especially wonderful how appreciated the mother is in the story, and how cherished. My three year old finds it touching.

Rating:
Summary: Great book
Review: I love this book! It is written with the words both in English and Spanish. It is short, sweet and so comfortiing. It's also great for discussing diversity, even in one's own family. My daughter and I love to read this at bedtime.

Rating:
Summary: A Gem
Review: I went to Barnes & Nobles and to my surprise, the children's section had a few Spanish/English books. I took home TOO MANY TAMALES, CHATO'S KITCHEN, TOCA, CHAVI, TOCA!, CARAMELO, and all of Sandra Cisnero's books. Finally, there are books that represent the diversity of Latino's in the United States... PELITOS and TOCA, CHAVI, TOCA! were my daughter's favorites. In both books you can hear, see, touch and smell the settings. One author is Cuban, the other Mexican and they both bring us into their culture in a beautiful way. Pelitos is lyrical beyond words. Sandra Cisneros is a poet. This treasure is a must!

Rating:
Summary: Charming for Children of all Cultures
Review: This is a little picture book that accomplishes many things and it has captured the attention of my preschoolers. It attempts to describe things that are different and things that are the same. The story describes each member of a Hispanic family by varied hair types, a phenomenon not uncommon in Hispanic families. The colorful illustrations play on this theme and depict different interests for each person of the family. What I sense is the same is that all these varied individuals belong to the same family and are subject to the mother's love. The words, both in Spanish and English, are lyrical and enchanting. The narrator is a young girl whose "hair does not obey barrettes or bands" yet still enjoys sleeping next to her mother. This story may help young children celebrate the differences within a close family. The illustrations are fun and vibrant (at least in my hardcover edition). It may also be an excellent tool if you want them to know a story in two languages. This is an enjoyable, creative story that takes no more than ten minutes to share with your children.