Drum, Chavi, Drum!/¡Toca, Chavi, toca! [Hardcover]

Mayra Lazara Dole (Author), Tonel (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 19, 2003 | Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

Even though nobody in her Cuban-American neighborhood thinks girls should play the drums, Chavi knows she was born to play. She drums on paint cans, sofa arms, even on her mother’s cheeks. Her favorites are the tumbadoras, conga drums. So, when she’s not picked to play on the school float for Calle Ocho—Miami’s Eighth Street carnaval—she decides to do something about it! Mayra L. Dole’s plucky little musician will drum her way into the hearts of all young readers, who will add her to their list of favorite heroines. Tonel’s illustrations capture the flavor of Calle Ocho’s inhabitants and celebrations.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-Plucky Chavi is determined to play the drums on the school float during Miami's Calle Ocho parade. The only problem is that everyone, from her music teacher to her own loving mother, is convinced that because she is a girl, she cannot possibly be good enough. Chavi knows differently, and she practices on anything she can get her hands on: pans, paint cans, car hoods. She just knows she's good, and before the book is over, so does everyone else. The exuberant text is alive with rhythms, and Chavi is a heartwarming heroine who compares favorably to other girls who think outside the box, such as Ruby in Shirin Yim Bridges's Ruby's Wish (Chronicle, 2002). Tonel's cartoon illustrations, executed in watercolor, colored pencil, and pen, are bright and busy, but have an amateurish look to them. The Spanish text, which appears on the recto, is a workmanlike translation of the English, which appears on the verso. Of particular interest to libraries in Cuban communities, this title is a serviceable addition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-3. With plenty of "Tun-DUN-DUN-tun, chicky-chack-PRACK!" providing a backbeat, Dole, a Cuban-born drummer, sends a determined child hurtling over an artificial gender barrier in this bilingual book, with English and Spanish on opposite pages. Outraged when her music teacher chooses a boy to drum in the upcoming Calle Ocho Festival, Chavi dons a disguise and marches off to strut her stuff. Admiration changes to shock when a group of men discover her gender, but when other listeners express support, Chavi's disappointment turns to triumph, and it isn't long before she has the crowd moving to her quick rhythms. The type is very small. But the energetic, unsophisticated illustrations depict Miami's famous festival with bright colors, exaggerated shapes, and proportions that match the lively words, which introduce Chavi's extended family and "the largest Latino festival in the nation." Although the setting here is more fleshed out than that of Brian Pinkney's Max Found Two Sticks (1994), the two tales are otherwise closely akin, both in their sound-effects-laced narratives, and in their dynamic young protagonists. John Peters
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Children's Book Press; Bilingual edition (June 19, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892391863
• ISBN-13: 978-0892391868
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,455,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Mayra Lazara Dole was born in Havana Cuba and raised in Miami. Dole's Americas Award Commended Title, Down to the Bone (HarperCollins), received a starred ALA Booklist review, was nominated for ALA Best Books for YA 2009 and made the following lists: Booklist's Top Ten Novels, ALA Rainbow List and CCBC Top Choices. The author has worked as a library assistant, hairstylist, ESL tutor and landscape designer. Her essays, Cuban dialect poems and short stories have been published by Hunger Mountain: the Vermont College Fine Arts Journal of the Arts, Cipher Journal: A Journal of Literary Translation, Palabra: A magazine of Chicano and Latino literary Art, Velvet Lesbian Magazine, Sinister Wisdom and other paper magazines.

Mayra's BLOG: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/600... [close]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A role model for our children, October 4, 2003

By 

Teresa Rodriguez (Miami, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Drum, Chavi, Drum!/¡Toca, Chavi, toca! (Hardcover)

Mayra Dole's character, Chavi, is a touching, vibrant, young female character you will want to introduce to your children. In fact, Chavi is so "touching" that she can't keep her hands from tap-tap-tapping everything that she comes in contact with. Chavi is a drummer in a culture where girls are not supposed to drum. Despite the strong forces trying to stop her, Chavi perseveres and lives out her dream. This book will give you a taste of Miami and its unique blends of cultures. Beautifully illustrated and written in both Spanish and English, this is a story that will most certainly...touch you.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a book for any young child, August 13, 2003

By 

Ian E. Morris (Fort Myers, FL USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Drum, Chavi, Drum!/¡Toca, Chavi, toca! (Hardcover)

Drum, Chavi, Drum (Toca, Chavi, Toca) is a marvelously written and illustrated story young children will enjoy. A child would not only find this book entertaining, but it is also useful for any child's learning on several levels. It is bilingual, exposes readers to Miami Cuban-American culture, and shows that girls need not be held back from persuing their dreams. I recommend it to all parents of young children.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cha-Cha-Chavi is a Little Latina Dynamite!, October 7, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Drum, Chavi, Drum!/¡Toca, Chavi, toca! (Hardcover)

Finally, a book about two dynamic Latino girl characters. The determination of Chavi, against all odds, to play the congas in the Little Havana Calle Ocho Festival will have you rooting for her. You can practically feel, smell and touch everything in her barrio; this is due to the vibrant, lively writing and the wild colorful artwork. Your kids will love Chavi and view her as a little barrio heroine.