Adela's Mariachi Band

by Denise Vega, Erika Rodriguez Medina (Illustrator)

Overview

Adela loves everything about her family's mariachi band--except that she isn't in it! Shining a spotlight on Mexican music, full of instruments and dancing, Adela’s Mariachi Band is sure to be a hit!

Adela wants nothing more than to be a part of her family's mariachi band, but when she tries the different instruments, everything comes out wrong. La trompeta fizzles, la vihuela squeaks, and trying to dance makes Adela fall on her face. From watching her family, Adela knows that practice makes perfect, but can she find a way to be part of the band in the meantime?

A new go-to read-aloud favorite that comes complete with funny instrument sounds, a rythmic text, and Spanish vocabulary. Strike up the band!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781632893994
Publisher:	Charlesbridge
Publication date:	08/13/2024
Sold by:	Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Denise Vega wrote and illustrated her first book, The Laziness of Peter Rabbit, when she was around twelve years old. Teachers were a huge influence on Denise and encouraged her pursuit of writing. Today she pulls inspiration from everywhere, from her nieces and nephews to the mountains and streams that grace the view from her home.

Erika Rodriguez Medina is a Mexican art teacher and illustrator. She is the illustrator of There Goes Patti McGee! and Margot and the Moon Landing. Erika works with both traditional and digital media, and loves to illustrate expressive characters, grumpy children, and subjects related to plants and nature. She currently lives and works in Vancouver, BC.  www.erikaim.com

Editorial Reviews

06/24/2024

Adela loves everything about her family’s mariachi band (“how the music skips and bounces.... how her family dances and claps”)—except “the fact that she isn’t in it.” But her early attempts at playing various instruments and joining the dancers quickly reveal that becoming proficient will take a long time (“When Papá plays la trompeta, big, beautiful sounds burst out.... When Adela tries it, a small, fizzly sound dribbles out,” Vega writes). Frustrated with her attempts, Adela makes a drawing of beloved mariachi elements that presages her own participation. Rodriguez Medina’s warm-toned digital illustrations offer texture and depth to a story that conveys one child’s early attempts at being part of something she loves. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note and sources conclude. Ages 4–7. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Adela loves everything about her family’s mariachi band (“how the music skips and bounces.... how her family dances and claps”)—except “the fact that she isn’t in it.” But her early attempts at playing various instruments and joining the dancers quickly reveal that becoming proficient will take a long time (“When Papá plays la trompeta, big, beautiful sounds burst out.... When Adela tries it, a small, fizzly sound dribbles out,” Vega writes). Frustrated with her attempts, Adela makes a drawing of beloved mariachi elements that presages her own participation. Rodriguez Medina’s warm-toned digital illustrations offer texture and depth to a story that conveys one child’s early attempts at being part of something she loves. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note and sources conclude. Ages 4–7.
—Publishers Weekly


This is a fun and colorful book about the art of mariachi music in Mexico. The pictures are very colorful pencil drawings that illustrate mariachi culture. This is written by Denise Vega whose father and grandfather were in a mariachi group. She grew up listening to them play this music. The book goes through many facets of playing in a mariachi band. Adela hears the trumpet play, the vihuela (Spanish string instrument similar to a guitar) sing, and the violin strings soar. She watches her mother and sisters dance to the music, their long colorful skirts twirling in the air. Written for young children, this is a great way to introduce the art form to them, and then pair it with a video of musicians and dancers playing and dancing to this music. Great book to use for Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations in September, and as part of a unit on Mexican culture any other time of the year as well.
—Children's Literature

From the Publisher