Customer Reviews

The Tree Is Older Than You Are: A Bilingual Gathering of Poems & Stories from Mexico with Paintings by Mexican Artists

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
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Being a beginning self-taught student in Spanish with a special interest in Mexican Spanish by way of my residency in Texas, I took a chance on purchasing this bilingual book and was more than delighted by what I found inside. The convenient side-by-side text of the poems and short stories makes it easy to follow the translations and improve language skills. However, the real treasures in this book are discovered slowly, as one peruses the glowing artwork by various Mexican artists in conjunction with the inspiring words that seem to interweave themselves into the pictures. This is a book to sit back and savor during personal quiet time, or to read to your children. The melodic rhythms of both the Spanish and English texts rock the heart and soothe the soul.

This is a wonderful book . The pictures work the imagination and the poems are beautiful. The dual language format will intrigue young readers and just may get them interested in a 'different' language. In addition this will expose youngsters to some of Mexico's rich culture. I know several college professors who have adopted this book to use in their Children's Literature and reading courses. Truth be told, I liked it so much I bought it for myself several years ago and have been 'advertising' it ever since.

I made copies of some of the poems to put on the overhead for my classroom of middle school students. Some of my Spanish speakers "volunteered" (at my urging) to read aloud, and all the kids loved it! The art selections are appropriate and the readability level is good for this age (even in the Spanish) A great addition to any teacher's bookshelf.

I found this book a valuable resource for getting young children interested in poetry. I have used this book for three years now and the response from my 2nd and 3rd graders has been fantastic. Many of the poems in this book, the kiddos can associate with making for interesting reading. This is a must buy for anyone trying to introduce poetry in the classroom.