Book Review: I See the Sun in Mexico

 

About the book (From the back cover)

I See the Sun in Mexico is the fifth book in the award-winning I See the Sun series.  Luis' working-class family lives in La Paz.  His father is a cook on an excursion boat.  His mother makes the best tortillas in the city.  Today, Luis will spend the day on the boat, swimming with the tourists on the beautiful sea.  The clear blue water is a magical world filled with colorful fish and playful sea lions.  In the afternoon, the boat anchors and everyone goes for a hike.  The sandy trail, high above the shore, reveals snakes, lizards, cactus flowers and ancient rock drawings.  Lush illustration and a bilingual story in English and Spanish provide Luis' view of his beautiful country.  

My thoughts

We enjoyed this book, and I especially liked the pictures.  They use real photos that are then enhanced and have drawings of people and pets scrapbooked onto them.  I also liked that EVERY part of the book is bilingual, not just the actual story, but the dedication and acknowledgements pages, the back cover and the glossary are all in both languages.  It really helps to see how the language is used in non-typical settings.  The simple language used through the book makes it a great book for someone learning the Spanish (and I bet it works well for Spanish speakers learning English) language to see how the sentences translate, while also introducing them to a small bit of Mexican culture.  I also like that there are several other languages and countries represented in this line of books.  It allows families to choose which country or language they are want to learn more about.   I could not find a complete list of what is available, but I did find Afghanistan (great for anyone who knows someone who is or was deployed there), China, Nepal and Russia.

I recommend these books to anyone who has any interest in the daily lives of people in other countries and/or is learning another language.  The reading level is pretty basic, so if you are just looking to learn about the country, these are better suited for older elementary kids, but would be appropriate for any age if they are learning the language.

*Disclaimer*
I would like to thank the publisher and One Media Squared for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for sharing this review with you.