Soto, Gary. Big Bushy Mustache. Illustrated by Joe Cepeda. New York; Alfred A. Knopf, 1998

Readers will identify with Ricky, a resourceful boy who comes up with the perfect costume for his class Cinco de Mayo celebration: he puts on a big, bushy mustache like his father’s. Tired of being told how much he looks like his mama, Ricky revels in the way the mustache makes him feel: more like his papi. He proudly walks home from school, with the mustache still in place, feeling very much the grownup. By the time he gets home, he discovers that he has lost the mustache on the way. Mama and Papi save the day in this very satisfying and heart-warming story.

In this fantasy adventure, Hispanic artist Javier Mariscal and poet Kim Summers usher the reader into the world of Lizzie, the young daughter of busy scientists who is facing a lonely birthday at her deserted island home. Shunning coconut cake and mango ice cream, she sets out to escape with her only friend in the world, her starfish. Before she gets very far, Señor Mundo, a personified magical earth, appears and offers to show her the world. This skillfully woven story is teeming with 32 pages of full color illustrations and rich dialogue. Mariscal's vivid comic-book-like illustrations and Summer's colorful language will delight readers of all ages.

In this vividly illustrated book, Lynn Rowe Reed intertwines an "alphabet" book into the tale of Pedro and his dog. Pedro gets a fancy perro and a plain sombrero for his birthday. He sets out to spruce up his hat with items listed in alphabetical order and in Spanish. The full page oil pastel illustrations are visually appealing and very interesting. The whole story has a strong Hispanic flair. This is a great book for bilingual children or to teach American children some Spanish words. The author facilitates this by providing a glossary with notes on the Spanish alphabet.

Two young girls, Spanish-speaking Margarita and English-speaking Margaret, unwillingly accompany their mothers to the park where they meet each other. While crossing the language barrier, the girls discover that they have more things in common than differences. This is an excellent book to teach tolerance of other cultures. This bilingual picture book contains illustrations of watercolor and ink on bright white pages. Although the pictures are pleasant, they are somewhat bland, and sometimes flat and confusing. Notable, though, is a technique Reiser employs where in several illustrations the only objects in color are the girls and their mothers, drawing special attention to these main characters and their actions.

In this ALA Notable Book and Parent's Choice Award winner, Gary Soto weaves a witty tale with a strong Mexican flavor. Chato is a cool cat whose "whiskers vibrate with pleasure" when he gets a whiff of his new neighbors: a family of ratoncitos. Licking his chops in anticipation, Chato decides to do the neighborly thing and invite the mice over for dinner. This very funny story is enhanced by the gorgeous, richly detailed acrylic paintings by award winning Latin artist, Susan Guevara. In fact, Ms. Guevara was awarded the 1996 Pura Belpre Award for Illustration for this work. This book is sure to delight readers of all ages.

Latin author/illustrator team, Gary Soto and Joe Cepeda, produced a winner in The Old Man & His Door. This delightful story is about an endearing old man who takes great pleasure at working in his garden, but who is "terrible at listening to his wife." He has tuned her out one too many times when on her way out the door to a barbecue she instructs him to bring el puerco (the pig) and instead he arrives with la puerta (the door)! The story is sprinkled with Spanish words, and a glossary with pronunciation guide is provided in the front of the book. Mr. Soto's quoting of a Mexican song, ('La Puerta. El Puerco. There's no difference to el viejo') at the onset of the story is a very effective introduction to the tale. Mr. Cepeda's illustrations are brilliant, rich and charming.

In this very creative work, artist Stephanie Garcia's illustrations eclipse the story of Isabel and Rafael's wedding, as told from the perspective of their flower girl, Maya. Garcia's models, made of Sculpy clay and acrylic, and every day objects like dried flowers, potato chips, olives, lace, material and wood, were ingenious. Diorama-like portrayals and framed models create a wonderful three-dimensional effect that makes this work visually stimulating. A light pink and lace background that reinforces the wedding theme frames every page.

Liliana's grandmothers, Mima and Mama Gabina, are compared and contrasted in this sweet story about a girl whose grandmothers come from different cultures. The story is accented with warm watercolor illustrations that realistically portray the cultures. For instance, when Mama Gabina prepares lunch for Liliana in her South American home, the dinner is adorned with dinner fare: rice, beans and avocado salad because in South America, lunch is the main meal of the day. Children of multi-cultural heritage will appreciate this story. This book can also be used to initiate a discussion about intergenerational relationships.

Full page watercolors accentuate the story of Maria Lili and her grandparents and what happens when they have no money to buy the ingredients to their coveted sancocho but only one dozen eggs. Sancocho is a thick, stew-like meal of various meats and Spanish vegetables. Hispanic women take great pride in their sancocho, and Maria Lili's grandmother finds a clever way to trade her dozen eggs for their favored meal. The scenes in the market of Maria Lili's grandmother trading vegetables and haggling for chickens are realistic. The scene where the grandparents take a siesta on their hammock as Maria Lili plays with a toy is precious. The book closes with a recipe for Mama Ana's Chicken Sancocho. This is another good intergenerational story and is also available in Spanish.

What happens when a little sparrow is trapped in a New York City subway train? That question forms the framework for this vignette about how a sparrow brings together four people of different cultures and languages. The very simple plot of the story is beautifully illustrated in vivid watercolors. The only unrealistic thing about the pictures is that the New York City subway train and streets are too clean! Urban children will appreciate this book. It is a useful tool to introduce a discussion on cultural tolerance. Also available in Spanish.

This story takes place in Venezuela. It is a story about persistence and change. In San Jose, otherwise referred to as the "barrio," the living conditions are deplorable. When the country decided to export oil instead of coffee, thousands of people moved from the country to the city. The cities weren't prepared for this. There is much over crowding, pollution, lack of housing, and many people live in poverty. It is so over crowded that the children have no where to play. So a group of children and their families rally together in an attempt to have the city build a playground. After getting no help from City Hall, they decide to make their own park. This story illustrates many social and economic issues that may arise in anyone's life. The most important points of this story are taking action and having a voice. Submitted by Laura Fitzgibbon

• Puerto Rican Day or other Hispanic "Pride" Days - Use the whole collection to promote awareness of and pride in the Hispanic culture. This can be done by reading the stories to classes or by booktalking some of them.
• Grandparents Day - Use Liliana's Grandmothers, Saturday Sancocho, and The Old Man and His Door to initiate discussion about grandparents and intergenerational relationships.
• An interdisciplinary activity in conjunction with a middle or high school art and/or English class - Compare the various techniques employed by the illustrators (e.g. watercolors, comic-book-like effect, acrylics, ink, and clay). Middle and High school students will enjoy the stories as well as gain an appreciation for the artwork that goes into breathing life into the books! Students can follow up this activity by illustrating their own picture books.
• Use during Social Studies/Multicultural Awareness month - Set up a display using the books and artifacts from Latin countries and a bulletin board highlighting aspects of the Hispanic culture.
• Promote racial tolerance by expanding the focus to include books about children from other cultural heritages. Suggestions following: (1) Davol, Marguerite W. The Paper Dragon. Illustrated by Robert Sabuda. Atheneum Books for Young Readers: New York, 1997; (2) Steptol, John. Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters: An African Tale. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books: New York, 1987; (3) Swain, Gwenyth. Smiling. Carolrhoda Books, Inc.: Minneapolis, 1999
• These are great books to either teach children simple Spanish words or for Spanish-speaking children who are learning English. Add other Spanish bilingual books to the collection. The illustrations will help children to remember new words.
• The class can follow-up a reading of Saturday Sancocho by preparing a sancocho.
• Use Big Bushy Mustache for an introduction to Cinco de Mayo or when discussing families.
• The Streets Are Free: This book can be used to discuss many topics such as poverty, geography, empowerment, economic conditions, and local government. This story illustrates many important issues that come up in school curriculum and therefore this book can be used in addition to textbooks to subsidize classroom materials. Laura Fitzgibbon