Tiny Travelers: Mexico Treasure Quest // Tiny Travelers: Puerto Rico Treasure Quest

authors: Steven Wolfe Pereira and Susie Jaramillo

illustrators: Susie Jaramillo, Mei Li Tan and Magali Reyes McDonald

Encantos Media Studios, 2019

preschool-grade 3 

Mexican, Puerto Rican

Tiny Travelers is a fun series of board books for travelers of all ages. Aimed at young audiences from preschool-grade 3, readers voyage to different countries and are introduced to various cultural traditions, culinary histories and a sense of geographical places worth visiting.

For my own tiny travel, I chose to read Mexico and Puerto Rico. The authors and illustrators introduce both countries in captivating ways that invite youngsters to take in and embrace the cultures. Each spread contains information presented in one or two quatrains, along with a small “did you know?” fact and a “can you find?” question that engage young readers to connect more fully with the cultures. In addition, this design uses a minimum of space that allows plenty of room for the bright, vibrant digitally “painted” illustrations. 

Mexico begins with a map of the country and lets children know that the quest is not for gold “but another special kind.” Given Mexico’s colonial history, this is a subtle reminder of the past, something that older students can research. Moving forward in curiosity and celebration exhibits page upon page of bright illustrations with multiethnic children of varied complexions interacting in diverse parts of Mexico. Emulating the “Where’s Waldo?” concept is an indigenous dog—“xoloitzcuintli”—who can be found on just about every spread.

Youngsters learn about traditional foods, cultural icons, music and famous places in Mexico. (And it’s also refreshing to see tiny details that Mexican children will note, such as a girl mariachi.) Throughout the text, connections are made with various cities or regions that invite further investigation later. The final pages include a world map that puts Mexico in context with the rest of the world. This book was an engaging read for this aging “tiny traveler.”

From Mexico, this traveler flew to Puerto Rico. As with Mexico, readers learn easy Spanish greetings and are transported to the capitol, San Juan, for a celebration. The legendary monster, “Vejigante,” shows up a few times and, of course, everyone is partying and he’s one of the musicians. But just in case, the text reads “If you see a monster, don’t be afraid! People love wearing masks of the Vejigante…”

The repeating cultural motif—on every spread—is PR’s beloved national symbol, the tiny coqui (whose loud, chirping call sounds like its name), hiding out, partying, sunbathing at the beach, watching TV, flying a kite… I’m reminded of a dicho: “Soy de aquí como el coquí.” It literally means, “I am from here, like the coquí.” 

The nearby island of Vieques lends a note of local biological beauty with a bioluminescent bay. This occurrence is in direct contrast with the island’s colonial history of the United States military presence, so is a welcome natural beauty addition. The reader continues discovering beaches, “coco frios” (cool coconut juice), culturally relevant sports such as boxing and outdoor spots for kite-flying such as El Morro on San Juan Bay.

My one suggestion for this series is that the names of places visited be included on each map. Map searching is less important for the preschoolers, but second-and third-graders could happily cross-reference towns on the map.

Although both Mexico and Puerto Rico follow a formula in describing the places and cultures, there is little that is formulaic in the Tiny Traveler series. Rather, as these gorgeously illustrated board books introduce young people to each place and culture, they nurture a healthy curiosity and encourage youngsters to want to know more. As well, Mexican and Puerto Rican children will see themselves as belonging to a land that is part of their own rich heritage. 

*Highly recommended for all home, classroom and library collections. 

—Rose Veda Berryessa

(published 9/10/20)

[Note: One of the “Did You Know?” entries tells young readers that “Puerto Rico has officially been a territory of the United States since 1898, making all Puerto Ricans American citizens.” This is true. However, the people of what’s currently known as Puerto Rico have been struggling for independence—first, from the Spanish Empire from 1493 to 1898, and since 1898, from the United States. In this review, I refer to Puerto Rico as a country. ¡Que viva Puerto Rico libre!--RVB]

Esqueletitos: Un libro para contar en el Día de los Muertos / Little Skeletons: Countdown to Midnight

author: Susie Jaramillo 

illustrator: Susie Jaramillo

interpretor: Susie Jaramillo 

Encantos Media Studios, Cantícos Series 

preschool-up 

El Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), on November 1 and 2, is celebrated in central and southern Mexico and, in recent years, has moved north as well. Originally based on Aztec tradition, it’s a time when the spirits of the people’s beloved (and sometimes not-so-beloved) relatives walk among the living and are welcomed and celebrated by festive parades and raucous partying, visiting and decorating graves with marigolds, candles and other colorful and fragrant mementos, and setting out family altars with photos and ofrendas of flowers, beer, and foods that were favored by those relatives. It’s at this time when the spirits of the dead often appear as the scent of marigolds, the sight of flittering hummingbirds, or other things of beauty. After the spirits have left and returned to their graves, their friends and relatives gather together to eat the food and take down and store the altars for the following year.

Based on the popular Latin American children’s song, “Los Esqueletos Salen de la Tumba” (“The Skeletons Come Out of the Tomb”), in which activities change from hour to hour, Esqueletitos is an interactive how-to-tell-time counting rhyme that features a clock with moveable hands on the inside front cover. Modeled in part after Mexican artist José Guadalupe Posada’s prints and engravings but minus his biting satire and political critiques, Jaramillo’s adorable cacophony of mostly gussied-up esqueletitos rise from their tombs and decorated graves at 1 a.m. and party all day and night. 

Accompanied by a skeleton pollito, elefantito, and ratoncito from Jaramillo’s previous board books—and with a skeleton kitty, puppy, monkey and bat joining them as well—the esqueletitos dance into the town square that’s been decorated to welcome them with an enormous wreath, festive flowers and papel picado. On the way, they all eat, jump and jive, play chess, take a rocket ride, dance some more, eat some more and finally, as the clock strikes midnight, return home to their eternal resting places—until the following year (or whenever youngsters open the book and begin again)!

With Esqueletitos, Jaramillo took a break from her usual bright acrylics overlaid with black ink and used pencil only. Her purpose, she told me, was to maintain the rustic black-and-white look of the Posada prints. While one might think that this technique would transform something meant for little kids into a somber grey and black board book they wouldn’t want to pick up, the joyous, laughing skeleton expressions and continuous action maintain at least the same effect as would full color. And, as a plus—the cover appears to glow in the dark!

Unlike other bilingual books in which the English text is almost always dominant, this practically indestructible accordion, fold-out reversible design features the Spanish text on one side and its English adaptation on the other, so that the youngest hablantes, bilingual, and non-Spanish speakers can flip the book over to switch languages whenever they want to.

Although the images are the same in both the Spanish text and English adaptation, each maintains its own rhythm and rhyme, capturing the melody, spirit and sense of humor without being forced to conform to the other. And the refrain in both Spanish—“Tumba-laca tumba-laca tumba tumba”—and English—“Tomb-a-laca tomb-a-laca tomb-a tomb-a”—join together, playing on the terms, “tomb” and “calacas.”

As a plus for hablantes who are learning English (as well as to maintain the meter), Jaramillo effortlessly inserts the Spanglish term, “skeletitos,” into the English adaptation. I look forward to seeing entire picture books written so that hablantes can relate to them in this positive, “homey” way. 

Esqueletitos: Un libro para contar en el Día de los Muertos / Little Skeletons: Countdown to Midnight is another great, fun addition to the Cantícos board book series.

*Highly recommended for all home, classroom and library collections.

—Beverly Slapin

(published 8/29/17)

Los Pollitos / Little Chickies // Elefantitos / Little Elephants

author: Susie Jaramillo 

illustrator: Susie Jaramillo 

translator: Susie Jaramillo

Encantos Media Studios, 

Cantícos series, 2016

toddlers-up

Conceived for the youngest hablantes, and bilingual and non-Spanish speakers as well—these whimsical, engaging and impossibly adorable accordion-styled board books are too heavy for toddlers to chew up or throw across the room. Which they wouldn’t want to do, anyway. For everyone else, they are an artful, well thought-out and beautifully produced treasure, keepers for sure.

Jaramillo creates her art by first sketching in pencil, then painting with acrylics to bring out the characters’ textures and “plumpness,” and finally, overlaying with black ink to bring them to life. Each librito has its own bright palette that highlights one color: yellow for Pollitos, for instance, and gray for Elefantitos. Printed on smooth, heavyweight paper, each page contains a partially hidden pull tab or flap that adds surprise, life and motion to the characters. It’s an art style that’s both interesting and fun for the littlest kids for whom Jaramillo produces them. Her goal, she told me, is to create bright, fun, “cute little characters that kids fall in love with and want to hug.”

The rhymes—something not often seen in children’s books—are conceived in Spanish and interpreted rather than translated into English. Rhyming in Spanish and English, they roll off the tongue and capture the melody, spirit, and sense of humor of both languages, engaging hablantes and non-Spanish speakers alike. In addition, they carry a subtle message—not that everyone’s the same, but that everyone’s different and they all get along.

For instance, the Mexican folk song, “Los pollitos dicen,” goes:

Los pollitos dicen

¡pío! ¡pío! ¡pío!

Cuando tienen hambre…

cuando tienen frío.

La gallina busca

el maíz y el trigo…

les da la comida…

y les presta abrigo.

Bajo sus dos alas…

a-cu-rru-ca-ditos…

duermen los pollitos,

hasta el otro día.

And the English interpretation, “Little Chickies”:

Little chickies squeal

¡pío! ¡pío! ¡pío!

When they get so cold…

and when they want a meal.

Mama goes and gets them

corn, from the field…

serves them each their food…

and warms them head to heel.

Chickies sleep so yummy…

snuggled up with mummy…

And that’s just where they’ll stay,

until another day.

Similarly, the Mexican counting song, in Spanish:

Un elefante se balanceaba

sobre la tela de una araña,

como veía que resistía

fue a llamar a otro elefante.

is interpreted into an English version:

One little elephant balanced oh so elegant

right on the web of a spider.

Along came a friend from around the bend

and the elephant called to invite her.

One of the differences in Jaramillo’s version as opposed to the “traditional” one, is that the elefantitos are babies who have a lot to learn. Maybe. As the group grows in number, the first one's expression —then that of the second, third, fourth and fifth—grow from carefree to concern to a sense of imminent danger as they start to think that balancing on a spider’s web might not be such a great idea. And the little spider—whom Jaramillo portrays as a big-eyed black ball of fuzz—is becoming frantic as well. Since no one gets hurt here, kids can happily repeat the song until they get sleepy. Or the adults do.

Frustrated with the lack of beautiful, high-quality bilingual books that, as Jaramillo told me, “tell stories inspired by our cultures, in a simple format that’s accessible to very young children,” her family joined with another to found Encantos Media Studios. It’s a homemade small business, a public benefit corporation with a social mission, as Jaramillo told me, “to bring people together, to tell stories inspired by our cultures.” As a sustainable business that is also a force for good, Jaramillo says that Encantos gives away “lots and lots of books to the communities we serve. It’s a complete labor of love.”

“It’s so important,” Jaramillo says, “to impart to kids both language and culture so that they can be proud of their families and bond with their grandparents.” 

Each accordion shaped book in the Cantícos series comes in a sturdy box for added protection, and there’s a free app, so the littlest ones can sing along. These absolutely adorable, good-natured, hilarious, and virtually indestructible (except for the pull tabs and flaps) little-kid books—in Spanish and English—are highly recommended.

*Highly recommended for all home, classroom and library collections.

—Beverly Slapin

(published 7/8/17, revised 7/10/17)