Gathering the Sun : An Alphabet In Spanish And English

Rating:
Summary: The colors and mood of the book is earth-embracing.
Review: I found this book to be breath taking in color and content. My childhood came rushing back and many memories. The symbolism in portraying Cesar Chavez and the earth as one was well done. The colors portrayed the warmth of the content. Excellent!

Rating:
Summary: CAPTIVATING!
Review: In this alphabet book, the author combines an alphabetic list of bilingual poems depicting themes of harvest, work, values, and home that both honor and celebrate the lives of migrant farmworkers. The book describes Spanish traditions and the Mexican heritage of the farmworkers with their families while introducing the letters of the alphabet in both English and Spanish. Each poem is presented first in Spanish and then in English. Zubizarreta's English poem on each page is not an exact word for word translation of its Spanish counterpart, but it translates the mood and essence of the original Spanish poem's message. Each Spanish target word describes how the plant, fruit, vegetable, person, or feeling relates to the lives of the workers. The illustrator, Simon Silva uses vibrant paintings portraying their farmlands and lives at work and at home. This alphabet book has great significance, because the poetry gives voice and pride to the experiences of Hispanic agricultural workers. The poems give strong mind pictures by using descriptive words that are attractive and meaningful to the experiences of the farmworkers. This book should be read aloud to a bilingual group of students by a reader who can skillfully use both languages to communicate the moods, otherwise maybe just one language should be read at a time. Adults as well as children will appreciate the poetry and artwork as well as the music that supplements this collection by Suni Paz. She captures the "Hispanic heart" with Spanish guitar music repeating phrases from the Spanish poetry.

Rating:
Summary: A Work of Art
Review: This book is not only a wonderful cultural asset it is very pleaseing to the eyes and the spirit. Children will learn valuable knowledge about the cultures the surround us and not even know they are leaning, beacause of all the beautiful drawings. You will read this again and again. I often use just one page in storytime and it sparks a whole hour of interest.

Rating:
Summary: A Work of Art
Review: This book is not only a wonderful cultural asset it is very pleaseing to the eyes and the spirit. Children will learn valuable knowledge about the cultures the surround us and not even know they are leaning, beacause of all the beautiful drawings. You will read this again and again. I often use just one page in storytime and it sparks a whole hour of interest.

Rating:
Summary: Gathering in the Sun: An Alphabet in Spanish and English
Review: This is a must have for any chicano especially with kids. It is a magnificant piece of art that allows us to talk to our kids and others about our latino heritage in the agricultural fields of America. I bought this book because I am a fan of Simon Silva's art work and this book is like having a selection of his prints to display on the coffee table instead of the wall. It is a great conversational piece as art or history, as a tool to teach our personal heritage or as an educational piece for those of different ethnic backgrounds, and last but not least it is great for young and old. I love it!

Rating:
Summary: Gathering in the Sun: An Alphabet in Spanish and English
Review: This is a must have for any chicano especially with kids. It is a magnificant piece of art that allows us to talk to our kids and others about our latino heritage in the agricultural fields of America. I bought this book because I am a fan of Simon Silva's art work and this book is like having a selection of his prints to display on the coffee table instead of the wall. It is a great conversational piece as art or history, as a tool to teach our personal heritage or as an educational piece for those of different ethnic backgrounds, and last but not least it is great for young and old. I love it!