Sunday, August 23, 2009

What Can you do with a Paleta? by Carmen Tafolla


Tafolla, Carmen, illustrated by Magaly Morales What Can You Do with a Paleta? Tricycle Press, 2009. $14.99. PICTURE BOOK - Language G, Sexual Content G, Violence G – One of my favorite memories of childhood is the music of the Ice Cream Man's truck. Tafolla give us the Mexican version of this summer treat. When the paleta wagon rings its tinkly bell in the barrio, the children paint their tongues with the fruit popsicles, scare each other with them and make new friends. But this sweet multicultural story with spanish words sprinkled throughout is diminished by awkward illustrations of rather frightening looking children. Their oddly shaped and unnaturally open mouths spoil the brighltly colored acrylic illustrations. Pre-K, EL (K-3) ELEMENTARY- OPTIONAL. Janell Pearce-Mattheus, Youth Services Librarian, Whitmore Library.

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