Customer Reviews

A Guide for Using Shadow of a Bull in the Classroom

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Shadow of a Bull is a Newbery winning book written by Maia Wojciechowska.

It's about a boy, Manolo Olivar, son of Juan Olivar, the best bullfighter in Spain. But, Manolo is afraid of bulls; he thinks bullfighting is cruel to bulls. Manolo has to fight his first bull at eleven. Everybody expects him to be as good a bullfighter as Juan Olivar, but Manolo's a coward, and he knows it.

This book contains many Spanish bullfighting terms. This story is well written and always fascinating and interesting. This book often makes you think what you would do if you were Manolo and in his circumstances. When it is time for Manolo to fight his first bull, it is exciting, gripping, and intense.

Overall, this is a wonderful book and I give it four-and-a-half stars.

Book Review: Shadow of a Bull

Do you think you would have enough courage to fight in a bullfight? Well, Manolo did. Manolo's father was one of the greatest bullfighters to ever walk the face of the Earth, and everyone expected Manolo to be the same. However, Manolo could not perform anywhere near his father's standards, and often wished he did not have to live up to those expectations. When he saw his first bullfight Manolo started to enjoy bullfighting more, and realized he could be as good as father. He practiced every day and got better, and better. Finally, he fought in his first bullfight. He did very well with the cape, but did not perform as well in his other competitions. Then an old man gave Manolo the choice to either become a doctor or a bullfighter. This was a very difficult choice for Manolo to make.

I guess you will have to read the book to find out what he chose.

In my opinion, Shadow of a Bull was a good book for several reasons. First of all, it was a quick easy reader. Second of all, I think that the author did a wonderful job describing the bullfight and the Spanish culture. The reader feels like he is at the bullfights cheering on Manolo. Next, I think that many people have faced intimidating challenges similar to the Manolo's. This makes it easy to sympathize with Manolo throughout the book. Finally, in addition to being a book about Spanish culture and bullfighting, Shadow of a Bull is a fable. The lesson to be learned from this book is that hard work pays off and that working hard is the only way to achieve goals. That is a very important lesson to learn in life. I would recommend this book.

Shadow of a Bull is a book about a boy named Manolo Olivar who is forced by the people of Arcangel to follow his father's path as a bullfighter. Everyone in the town of Arcangel expected him to fight a bull at the age of 12, just like his father had. He believed that he couldn't overcome his fear of the fight, and that he could not find the courage and strength to fight his first bull. His friend named Juan Garcia always went to the pastures to cape wild bulls(do passes with them). Manolo asked him if he could come and watch him cape the bulls. At first, Juan was hesitant and refused to take Manolo with him, but, after convincing Juan, they decided to meet a few days later to go to the pastures. Manolo got to see how Juan put his bravery and strength to test. He felt that he might be ready to fight his first bull. Manolo wanted to show the people how good Juan was at fighting bulls so he asked the Count if he could cape some cows after Manolo was done with his bull. The Count agreed and said he could cape the cows, but that he couldn't help Manolo with his bull. During Manolo's fight with the bull he said that he did not want to be a bullfighter and said that this was Juan's bull. So Juan started fighting the pull and did some magnificent passes. The crowd shouted "Ole!" and Juan had tears in his eyes. Manolo had given up what he was destined to do and had given that opportunity to Juan who pleased the crowd much more than Manolo could have done.
I enjoyed this book because it was fun to hear about the gorings of the bull fighters. Manolo was always scared to be gored by one of those big, sharp, bull horns. "In Spain, however, people have found a way of cheating death. They summon it to appear in the afternoon in the bull ring,and they make it face a man. Death-a fighting bull with horns as weapons-is killed by a bullfighter. And the people are there watching death being cheated of its right." Manolo feared death. He was not sure if he could cheat it like others could in the ring. I also would be scared if I had to fight a half-ton bull.
I also disliked this book because it was very boring in the first half. I would suggest this book to people that enjoy having a sad, but interesting ending. It would be enjoyable to read about how the bullfighters fought if the reader likes to hear about how animals can be killed with no chance to escape. I found it upsetting to read about how animals are cruelly tortured just for the entertainment of a crowd.
My favorite part of the book was when the doctor was showing Manolo the gore wound from a bull. It was very descriptive and explained very well how the wound looked. It seemed a little bit of fairness that bullfighters had been injured by the bull because humans usually injure them.
This book is great for young readers and adolescent readers(grades 4-7) and even older. This book is one of the best I have read. I recommend it to readers who want to learn about another culture or who want to find out more about bullfighting.

Shadow of a BULL is one of the greatest books i have read. It's easy to see why this book recieved a Newberry award. Manolo Olivar is the son of Juan Olivar the greatest bullfighter in all of Spain. Young Manolo is expected to do the same. Manolo thinks he is a coward and really doesn't want to fight the bull on his 12 birthday. Six men train Manolo for the fight. He was trained well and thought he could do it. Secretly Manolo wanted to be doctor. When Manolo went to see the doctor, he said he could help around the clinic. When Manolo was forced to fight the bull, he did well at the begining of the fight but, when it came time for the bull to be killed, Manolo choked and couldn't do it. After that, he went to work for the doctor. This book is a great book and i recomend it to anyone who wants to read a good book!!

We've all done things we didn't want to do just to make other people happy. In the book, Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojiechowska, a young boy named Manolo Oliver has a dream of becoming a doctor, but that dream is quickly shattered when his hometown of Arcangel, Spain, look to him to bring the spirit of bullfighting back to the small town since the death of his father. Six men, friends of his father's, take Manolo to many bullfights and teach him everything there is to know about the sport. Manolo knows what the whole town wants from him. He just doesn't know if he is capable to give it to them. But in the end, his dream comes true in a way that pleases both him and the town when he becomes the doctor he wanted to be. The suspense and drama you feel while reading this book is all due to the great descriptions that Maia Wojiechowska uses. She describes the pressure that Manolo feels of following in his father's footsteps. You become very interested in the story and you don't want to put it down.

This is the most boring book i have ever read in my entire life if only i could have stopped reading it. but no i had to read it for shcool.why would anybody like this book is beyond me its boring slow unexiting and a 12 year old learning how to fight a bull just because his father dies doing it and everybody wants him to do it you got to be fricken kidding me. The good part about this book is at the end where he says he dosent want to fight the bull and he wants to become a doctor. as a matter of fact the only reason why my teacher wanted me to read this piece of crap was because of the ending come on.If you see this book burn it i can't belive that so many people like this crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A cultural history lesson about Spain disguised as a story, but a good story nonetheless. Manolo Olivar looks just like his father, a famous bullfighter killed when Manolo was small. Everyone in the Andalusian town of Arcangel just knows Manolo is destined to be a great bullfighter like his father. Everyone, that is, except Manolo himself. When taken to his first bullfight at age nine, young Manolo sympathized with the bull rather than with the man facing the danger ("He wanted to cry out for the bull and his pain"). Now, nervously facing his first fight as a matador, Manolo prays to the Virgin Mary not for his own safety, but for the animal's: "Please don't let them make me kill the bull."

He is no coward; he simply lacks afición, defined by the author as "intense love for bullfighting." This boy is not destined to be a killer, but a healer. After facing down his fears, and finally deciding to speak up for himself, Manolo announces that instead of becoming a bullfighter, he will study to be a doctor.

We never learn much about Manolo besides his feelings about bullfighting. The author does not describe his home, mother, siblings, or school, though we know he has them all. Manolo is a merely the blank slate upon which is inscribed a verbal portrait of Spanish bullfighting culture. And yet the simple story does not get lost -- this boy on the verge of manhood must prove himself to be physically and morally courageous, or suffer social humiliation.

On every page there are specialized Spanish words pertaining to bullfighting; a useful glossary at the end defines these terms and gives a pronunciation key. This book would be most appreciated by young male readers who will someday enjoy reading Ernest Hemingway, especially Death in the Afternoon and For Whom the Bell Tolls. No illustrations.

When a boy, Manolo Olivar, is born, all the people of Archangel expect him to become a great bullfighter like his father, Juan Olivar. Manolo's father is killed by a bull, and Manolo is now expected to fight his first bull at age 11, to take his father's place. Archangel's arrogance and pride get in the way of the poeple realizing that Manolo is afraid of bulls, and he feels sorry for them. After many lessons on how to fight and what to do, the time comes for Manolo to face his first bull! He now feels the reality that his childhood was taken away from him and taht he must accept it. When he fights his bulland makes an unexpected faulty move with his muleta, he starts to realize that he needs to tell his spectators his decision.

This book was very interesting and full of suspense. I liked it very much, and I rate it four stars. Maia Wojciechowska used many Spanish words in her creative and enlarged vocabulary. I was very entertained throughout the whole book and I thought it was a very good tool to use to understand Spanish words better becasue of the Spanish dictionary in the back of the book.

I think this book is pretty good. I wish Maia Wojciechowaska told a little more information about Juan Garcia's fight, but other than that i thought the book was pretty good

Shadow of a Bull is about a boy called Manolo whose father was a famous bullfighter (torero) from Arcangel, Spain. Like many children of today, he is expected to follow in his father's footsteps. As the story unfolds, it becomes evident that Manolo has a very difficult decision to make. In our opinion this is a book that we recommend reading as a group because it led to many meaningful discussions.