The Party for Papá Luis/La Fiesta para Papá Luis

by Diane Gonzales Bertrand, Gabriela Baeza Ventura, Alejandro Galindo (Illustrator)

Overview

Everybody loves a birthday party, and there's a lot to enjoy at Papá Luis' fiesta! The children excitedly count the candy that will fill the piñata. The nieces bring the candles for the birthday cake that Mamá Marta baked. Family and friends begin to arrive, and soon, they surprise Papá Luis with his special celebration. Told in lively verse, this cumulative tale builds from one page to the next as popular children's book author Diane Gonzales Bertrand presents a charming look at a big family gathering that celebrates the patriarch's birthday. Like her previous award-winning book, The Empanadas that Abuela Made / Las empanadas que hacía la abuela, Diane Gonzales Bertrand gives emerging readers another book that creates confidence and skills through repetition and sentence building. Accompanied by Alejandro Galindo's whimsical illustrations of big-eyed children and elderly family members dancing and enjoying each other, this fun-filled fiesta is sure to delight children ages 4 - 8. After reading this appealing bilingual story, kids will eagerly begin planning their own birthday parties.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781558855328
Publisher:	Arte Publico Press
Publication date:	04/28/2010
Edition description:	Bilingual
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Language:	Spanish
Lexile:	670L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

Editorial Reviews

A large cartoon family celebrates Papá Luis's birthday in this lively bilingual book. Every page identifies a different colorful element of the gathering (“This is the candy that filled the piñata that hung at the party for Papá Luis”), and layers them in the style of “There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly.” Galindo's exuberant caricatures endow each family member with a distinct personality: Mamá Marta, who makes an enormous layer cake, wears a white, Marge Simpson-like beehive, and three chic adult nieces bring a touch of glamour. Readers will be glad to join in, though the party ends a little suddenly, mid piñata swing. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 3—Told in verse, this story shows how a family celebrates Papá Luis's very special birthday. It begins, "Ésta es la fiesta para Papá Luis." Each page adds a new line to the story and a component of the party. From bringing out the piñata to the arrival of the guest of honor, each page describes everyone's contribution to the festivities. The children are in charge of the candy, Mamá Marta bakes the cake and the nieces place the candles on it, and friends and family dance the day away. The humorous illustrations of clowns, conga lines, and empanadas, and the boldly colored exaggerated cartoons of the relatives perfectly depict the party atmosphere and the joy felt by this family. Children will leave this book dreaming of parties.—Rebecca Alcalá, San Mateo County Library, CA

School Library Journal