Marco Flamingo / Marco Flamenco [Hardcover]

Sheila Jarkins (Author, Illustrator), Eida de la Vega (Translator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Meet Marco. He is just regular flamingo with regular flamingo friends. There is just one problem. Marco wants to be a winter bird. Every year he watches his geese friends fly south to get out of the cold. He cannot understand them because this is just the thing he s craving. Watch what happens when he travels north for the winter. Storyline is presented in both English and Spanish. A keyword bilingual vocabulary page is included to jumpstart learning. Soft pink watercolors of summer move to the blues of winter as you almost feel the climate change. Marco is full of expression and excited in this journey of following your dreams.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2–Marco the flamingo is a southern bird who is curious about the north. He anxiously awaits the arrival of the snowbirds—migrating ducks and geese—to ask them about their homes but they just tell him that he doesn't want to know. But Marco does want to know, so he heads north to experience the cold for himself. As he soars farther and farther, the tropical background fades into snow and Marco magically acquires earmuffs, a brightly striped scarf with matching socks, jeans, and a parka. Although some of the humor (complaining about snowbirds, for example) is aimed at adults, children will enjoy the comical illustrations of the spindly legged flamingo snowboarding, ice skating, and skiing. Although the Spanish is grammatically correct, it doesn't always match the reading level of the English. For instance, even for Spanish-speaking children, regresaron is much more difficult to pronounce than they're back. A small picture at the end shows a melting snowman and Marco returning south. Pair this book with Janet Morgan Stoeke's A Hat for Minerva Louise (Dutton, 1994) and David Shannon's Duck on a Bike (Scholastic, 2002) for a rollicking storytime about oddball birds.–Rebecca Hickman, Sherman Library at NSU, Fort Lauderdale, FL
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About the Author

Sheila Jarkins is a Raven Tree Press author.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Raven Tree Press C/O Delta; Bilingual edition (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0979446252
• ISBN-13: 978-0979446252
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,024,462 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars COLORFUL ILLUSTRATIONS, SIMPLE STORY, December 14, 2008

By 

Bob S. "Classical Music Fanatic" (Northeast Massachusetts USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Marco Flamingo / Marco Flamenco (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

Marco Flamingo is that rare bird who wants to migrate North in winter to discover what snow is after hearing about it from his friends the Snowbirds who have just migrated South. The story, presented in English and Spanish, is simple and I believe would be interesting to a young child, and the illustrations are very colorful. It would be a useful vehicle for parents to discuss differences with children- the colorful bird who lives in a warm place wanting to experience what his Snowbird friends try to escape from a cold place. It could also be used to talk about "the grass is always greener on the other side" concept if that need should arise. I would have given it 4 stars but the binding (perhaps because it was from Amazon Vine?) was unacceptable in a book at this price.

2.0 out of 5 stars not enchanting..., December 11, 2008

By 

Jean DeVilbiss "jeandev" (Santa Barbara, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marco Flamingo / Marco Flamenco (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

This book seems to have a split personality - I first thought it would be great to have the translations on the same page - makes it easier to translate. However, it seems to be back and forth between ages and abilities. One page is simple, easy to figure translation. Then the next page they hit you with two paragraphs that are
WAY beyond the age level of the book.

the story itself is okay - not enchanting or particularly interesting. I sure would NOT recommend this.

3.0 out of 5 stars Marco Flamenco, December 4, 2008

By 

Suz (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marco Flamingo / Marco Flamenco (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

This book was a pleasant enough little read, but they could have expanded and/or made better selections for their vocabulary list in the back. The is only 10 words, and includes such uncommon words as "flamingo", "palm tree" and "goose."

IMO it is a cute seasonal book to read to young students of Spanish, but not particularly useful for practical learning.