El Arbol De Navidad [Hardcover]

Alma Flor Ada (Author)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

A cumulative rhyme describes the decorating of the family Christmas tree.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3?The meter and appealing rhyme scheme of the cumulative verses apparent in the Spanish text are missing in the English version. The simple story centers on a Christmas tree and the joy it brings to those who assemble to decorate it. Straightforward sentences describe, first in English, then in Spanish, one thing that each family member contributes to the tree. As each decoration is repeated, the refrain grows longer. "Look at the beautiful Christmas tree/with the bright candle/Grandma lit,/the candy cane/Grandpa hung,/the sleigh/Uncle Irineo painted," etc. The artwork, done in acrylic paint on black paper, features deeply saturated background shades of red, orange, blue, green, and violet. The figures are portrayed in a primitive, folk-art style and the dark hues chosen for the backgrounds and festive, decorative borders give them depth and texture. A visually attractive addition especially for bilingual and Spanish-language collections.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: Spanish, English

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1st edition (January 1, 1900)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786801514
• ISBN-13: 978-0786801510
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 8.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,547,629 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Alma Flor Ada, Pro­fes­sor Emerita at the Uni­ver­sity of San Fran­cisco, has devoted her life to advo­cacy for peace by pro­mot­ing a ped­a­gogy ori­ented to per­sonal real­iza­tion and social jus­tice. A for­mer Rad­cliffe Scholar at Har­vard Uni­ver­sity and Ful­bright Research Scholar she is an inter­na­tion­ally re-known speaker and the author of numer­ous children's books of poetry, nar­ra­tive, folk­lore and non fic­tion. Her books have received pres­ti­gious awards; among many: Christo­pher Medal (The Gold Coin), Pura Bel­pré Medal (Under the Royal Palms), Once Upon a World (Gath­er­ing the Sun), Par­ents' Choice Honor (Dear Peter Rab­bit), NCSS and CBC Notable Book (My Name is María Isabel). She is also the author of a book of mem­oirs, Vivir en dos idiomas, two nov­els for adults, En clave de sol and A pesar del amor, and sev­eral pro­fes­sional books for edu­ca­tors, includ­ing A Mag­i­cal Encounter: Latino Children's Lit­er­a­ture in the Class­room, as well as a wealth of edu­ca­tional mate­ri­als. Her work, in col­lab­o­ra­tion with F. Isabel Cam­poy in pro­mot­ing author­ship in stu­dents, teach­ers, and par­ents is the con­tent of their book Authors in the Class­room: A Trans­for­ma­tive Edu­ca­tion Process. Alma Flor Ada has been awarded the Amer­i­can Edu­ca­tion Research Asso­ci­a­tion [AERA] His­panic Issues Award for Research in Ele­men­tary, Sec­ondary and Post­sec­ondary Edu­ca­tion and the Cal­i­for­nia Asso­ci­a­tion for Bilin­gual Edu­ca­tion [CABE] Life Long Award.