author: Maya Christina González
illustrator: Maya Christina González
Children’s Book Press / Lee & Low, 2007
preschool-grade 3
Mexican American
Unless they
actually live in the desert, young children are likely to think that this
environment is harsh, hot and dusty and its flora consist entirely of cacti and
tumbleweeds.
My Colors, My World is a refreshing, poetic, beautifully
illustrated bilingual “concept book” that invites youngest readers and
listeners to explore colors, shapes, science, geography, and how people live in
their environments.
As an exuberant
little girl thinks about the colors in and around her desert home in the Mohave
Desert, sometimes everything seems to be relatively monochromatic, but on close
examination, everything becomes a brilliant riot of colors, tones, shapes, and
textures. While young Maya shares her day of simple pleasures—from standing in
the wind, to swaying on her swing, to having tea with the flowers, to greeting
her Papi as he comes home from work, to watching “the hot pink sky turn into a
dark blue night”—she invites young readers into her world.
Introducing a
new color on each page with the words of the colors painted in those colors, González’s
acrylic-on-paper illustrations, in the rich colors of the desert, are big and
bold and imaginative and joyful. And the Spanish translation is as simple and
elegant as the English.
This lively and
colorful little book uses magical realism to draw in young children who see
life in everything. Here, the sun and the moon have faces, a little bird closes
its eyes to the wind, houses lean to one side, and Maya invites purple irises
to be her guests for tea—offering them a pastry that she’s made out of a mud
pie, a marigold flower, a stone and a leaf.
My Colors, My World / Mis colores, mi
mundo is an engaging way
to introduce children to all the colors of the desert world and to inspire them
to look at their own worlds as well. It’s highly recommended.
—María Cárdenas
(published 3/12/14)
(published 3/12/14)
No comments:
Post a Comment
We welcome all thoughtful comments. We will not accept racist, sexist, or otherwise mean-spirited posts. Thank you.