Book Review: Cuando Amamos Cantamos by Ernesto Javier Martinez

Cuando Amamos Cantamos: When We Love Someone We Sing to Them
by Ernesto Javier Martinez (j466.3 Mar)

I pulled out this bilingual book to recommend for the upcoming Valentine’s Day holiday. I am a big fan of Maya Christina Gonzalez’ books, and this one makes for a beautiful collaboration between Gonzalez as illustrator alongside author Ernesto Javier Martinez. A father teaches his son about how serenades are sung to those we love. The young boy realizes he has loving feeling towards his new friend (who is another young boy). It’s a lovely story of family acceptance. Author and professor Ernesto Javier Martinez also made a short film of this same story.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Sing, Don’t Cry by Angela Dominguez, What You Don’t Know by Anastasia Higginbotham, Call Me Tree by Maya Christina Gonzalez, Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez Neal or Julián is a Mermaid by Jessica Love.)

 

( official When We Love Someone We Sing to Them page on the official Ernesto Javier Martinez web site )

 

Recommended by Naomi S.
Eiseley Branch Library

 

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New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: Federico and the Wolf by Rebecca J. Gomez

Federico and the Wolf
by Rebecca J. Gomez (jP Gomez)

Federico is on his way to his abuelo’s house, wearing his red hoodie, to make salsa together. A terrific re-telling of the Little Red Riding Hood story. A few basic Spanish words are sprinkled throughout the story to introduce a non-Spanish speaker to the language. Wonderful rhyming, a fun story, includes what the author calls “the best salsa recipe,” and Spanish/English translation included at the back.

[ publisher’s official Federico and the Wolf web page ] | [ official Rebecca J. Gomez web site ]

Recommended by Charlotte M.
Bennett Martin Public Library – Public Service

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Book Review: My Papi Has a Motorcycle by Isabel Quintero

My Papi Has a Motorcycle
by Isabel Quintero (jP Quintero)

This beautiful, heartwarming picture begins: “My papi has a motorcycle. From him I’ve learned words like carburetor and cariño, drill and dedication.”

It’s a celebration of working-class, Latinx fathers that’s based on the author’s own memories of her father giving her motorcycle rides around Corona, California. In the story, a young girl proudly wearing her unicorn helmet sees their librarian walking by, her grandparents’ house, her father’s current worksite, and a raspado (shaved ice) shop that has closed since their last visit.

The story itself is a trip down memory lane, showing local businesses that existed in Quintero’s childhood. It’s also a trip down Grand Boulevard, a circular street in Corona that was the site of several international car races in the 1910s. As the girl and her father zoom along, she imagines being in one of those car races. As readers, we see the history of this city woven with the history of its Latinx community.

I’ve had this book go over great in elementary-age storytime. I showed the girl’s motorcycle helmet to the kids and asked what they would have on their own motorcycle helmet. They all knew immediately! When the girl and her dad reached the closed down raspados shop, I asked them what flavor raspados they would like to have. They yelled out fruit flavors I knew, plus a new one on me: tiger’s blood. This turned out to be watermelon, strawberry, and coconut. They were mesmerized by the imagined car racing scenes and the motorcycle streaking down the road like a blue lightning bolt. So long as the storytime leader understands the Spanish words and phrases, kids don’t need everything defined to follow the story. When I did pause a few times to ask if anyone knew what raspados, or albóndigas, or conchas are, the kids who had food-related vocabulary were thrilled to be the experts who could explain to the others about snow cones, meatballs, and sweet bread.

For another picture book celebrating awesome dads who are often overlooked in this format, I suggest Tell Me a Tattoo Story by Alison McGhee. I also suggest the award-winning Lowriders series of graphic novels by Cathy Camper because the girl in this story is shown reading them and they have strong Latinx and vehicle culture ties back to ‘My Papi Has a Motorcycle.’

This title is also available in Spanish at Lincoln City Libraries as ‘Mi Papi Tiene Una Moto.’

[ publisher’s My Papi Has a Motorcycle web page ] | [ official Isabel Quintero blog ]

Recommended by Garren H.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: Instructions Not Included

Instructions Not Included
[DVD Instructions]

Until a couple of weeks ago, I was not aware of Eugenio Derbez, a fixture in Mexican TV and movie culture. Now that I know of him, I wish I had discovered him sooner. He directed, co-produced and co-wrote this lovely little film. “No Se Aceptan Devoluciones” (No Returns, in its original Spanish) was released in 2013 to an eventual $100 million box office take. Derbez plays the main character, Valentin, whose father repeatedly tried to toughen him up as a young boy by various scary methods, which Valentin came to greatly resent but then ultimately value. As an adult, he is living a carefree life in Acapulco, hooking up with as many pretty young women as he can until one of them shows back up on his doorstep with an 18-month old baby that she says is his. On the premise that she needs to go pay the cab driver, the woman, Julie, takes off, leaving little Maggie in Valentin’s arms. When he realizes the situation he tries to follow her to Los Angeles but loses track of her. By chance, he gets into a situation where an LA movie director hires him to be a stuntman and this turns out to be a lucrative way to provide for his instant daughter, especially since he doesn’t speak English. A few years pass and Maggie and Valentin are not only a family but best buddies, on set and off. In order to quell her longing for a mother who abandoned her — divorce is the reason given — Valentin contrives letters from Julie to Maggie that tell about all kinds of exploits wherein she sometimes saves the world from disaster. Then, out of the blue, Julie reappears and wants to connect with the daughter she gave away. Maggie is thrilled but Valentin is understandably upset. It seems the two parents work out an arrangement but then a short time later Julie sues for full custody. With the odds stacked against him, Valentin speaks from his heart about his love for Maggie and the judge rules in his favor. Desperate, Julie requests a paternity test, and things become even more complicated.

All of the acting is fine and the chemistry between Derbez and Loreta Peralta, who plays 7-year-old Maggie, is wonderful. And props go to Daniel Raymont as the movie director/friend. This is a funny, engaging and thoughtful story about how something terrible can turn into something terrific. (This edition is in Spanish with English subtitles available in the sub-menu).

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Three Men and a Baby (1987), The Game Plan (2007), Paper Moon (1973) or Overboard]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Instructions Not Included Facebook page ]

Recommended by Becky W.C.
Walt Branch Library

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!