?Marimba!: Animales From A to Z [Hardcover]

Pat Mora (Author), Doug Cushman (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

After the visitors have left the zoo and the animals have settled down for the night, a mischievous monkey starts a ting-tong rhythm on the marimba and slowly the animals awaken. Lions and llamas samba and cougars and coyotes conga as all the animals join in the fun to create a rollicking fiesta. Infused with Mexican American flavor, ?MARIMBA! is a unique alphabet book that also introduces the concept of cognates--words in different languages that are similar. Young Spanish speakers will be delighted to find they are already familiar with twenty-six words in English, and English speakers with find they already know some Spanish. Author's note, pronunciation guide, rebus dictionary.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1–This infectiously cheerful alphabet book includes both Spanish and English animal names (the author deliberately chose examples that are easily recognizable in both languages). Rhyming verses introduce pairs of letters: A chorus of lions and llamas/samba down the street./Mariachi manaties mambo/to marimba's ting-tong beat and Raccoons and rinocerontes/rumba with rattlesnakes./Sloths and salamandras/salsa around the lakes. A monkey playing a marimba soothingly croons the zookeepers to sleep and then pops up affably in most of the watercolor illustrations to entertain the various creatures that burst with energy and humor. The starlit sky that appears in most of the illustrations reminds readers that despite the brightness of the foreground, these frolicking animals are celebrating at night. Miniature visual representations of each Spanish word accompany a helpful pronunciation and translation guide. This freshly presented concept book will please children and may tempt librarians to share it at storytime.–Kirsten Cutler, Sonoma County Library, CA
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Review

"With humor, zest, and a rhyming text sprinkled with easily understood Spanish words, this delightful ABC book...features animales in a night of singing, dancing, feasting, and playing musical instruments."--Book Links

"Using carefully crafted poetry and cognates, she skillfully weaves a story..sure to be a good cross-cultural resource book and a great addition to any community & school library." --Multicultural Review

"This infectiously cheerful alphabet book includes both Spanish and English animal names (...that are easily recognizable in both languages)." School Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; None edition (November 13, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618194533
• ISBN-13: 978-0618194537
• Product Dimensions: 11.5 x 8.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,248,624 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Pat Mora, born in El Paso, Texas, is an award-winning poet and author of books for adults, teens, and children. Her awards include a Poetry Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Golden Kite Award, American Library Association Notable Book Awards, and honorary doctorates. A former teacher and university administrator, she is the founder of the family literacy initiative El día de los niños / El día de los libros, Children's Day / Book Day (Día). The year-long commitment to linking all children to books, languages and cultures, and of sharing what Pat calls "bookjoy," culminates in celebrations across the country in April. Pat lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico and invites you to visit her at www.patmora.com and http://sharebookjoy.blogspot.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Not ideal for learning Spanish, August 9, 2009

By 

Suzy Black (London) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: ?Marimba!: Animales From A to Z (Hardcover)

I was disappointed with this book. I expected it to each a Spanish alphabet as the focus is on Spanish vocabulary, or so I thought... The author doesn't include ll as an alphabet letter, which it is in Spanish and worse, includes llama under the letter 'l'. This makes it very misleading as llama is pronounced either with a y or a j sound, but not 'l' as we say it in English.

I would have preferred this book had it been a straightforward fun story in English.

5.0 out of 5 stars fabulous and fun, January 9, 2009

By 

Lyla J. Woodward "blessed through adoption" (Raleigh, NC) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: ?Marimba!: Animales From A to Z (Hardcover)

This book is absolutely wonderful. The pictures and words are delightful and according to my daughter you can't beat a book that includes a llama. I also love the pronounciation guide at the end as it is interesting to compare the Enlgish and Spanish pronounciations. I highly reccommend this book to all.

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Way for Kids to Learn Some Spanish, June 22, 2007

By 

Cindy W. Bonner (New Mexico) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: ?Marimba!: Animales From A to Z (Hardcover)

With "¡Marimba!" El Paso author Pat Mora says she wanted to create an alphabet book that incorporates both English and Spanish. She found twenty-six cognates, or words that are similar in both languages, and arrived at this colorful story of something special that happens at the zoo when a frisky monkey begins to play his marimba. At the back of the book is a translation and pronunciation guide. Listed for grades K through 3, but my 6-year-old grandson enjoyed it as well.