Ana Juan

I loved Elena’s Serenade. It was a great story about a little girl who wanted to become a glass blower, but her dad wouldn’t let her because she was a girl. Therefore, she disguised herself as a boy and left home on a journey to become a glass blower. One thing I really enjoyed about the story was its message. Though it is a fictitious story, it shows that girls can do anything boys can do and defies gender stereotyping in the types of jobs people have. Also, I enjoyed the illustrations. show more I can’t tell what medium was used to create the illustrations, but I loved the detail and bright colors throughout them because they really enhanced the story. Finally, I loved the emphasis on Hispanic and Latin culture. Elena lives in Mexico, so the setting and culture is different than what many students in America know, so this book would definitely help broaden their horizons on it.
I would recommend this story for early readers K-2 because it’s a fun and heartwarming story with beautiful illustrations that young kids would love to hear in a read aloud. show less

This book takes the very adult content of Frida Kahlo’s hardships and translates them into a biography for children. Frida's life had not been easy; she suffered from an illness at a young age and then a horrible bus accident in her teens. Constantly confined to her bed Frida escaped into the world of her art; drawing and painting the pain she felt instead of showing them. The illustrations of the book mirror the style of Kahlo’s own art. For the classroom, I would say that this book show more would be excellent to use for History. show less

“Frida” was an excellent story that chronicled the life of painter, Frida Kahlo. I enjoyed the story for two main reasons. First, the illustrations were excellent and mirrored the style of Kahlo’s own art. The illustrations also had very authentic aspects of Mexican culture within them. I read in the illustrator’s note that Mexican art and culture played a very important part in Frida’s development as an artist. The illustrator states, “For this reason I have portrayed show more traditional characters in Mexican folk art-funny skeletons, little devils, sweet jaguars, and others-as constant companions throughout her life. These are images she would have seen in her childhood home, in the markets of her town, and in books.” I thought this was a really cool thing that the illustrator did, because it made the biography very authentic to Frida’s actual life. Because of the vivid illustrations drawn to exemplify Frida’s inspirations and own artwork, it seemed like “Frida” was Kahlo’s own story and not just a story about her. Secondly, I really liked the message that “Frida” sent. Frida suffered from Polio when she was little and was confined to a bed for nine months. She was also in a horrible bus accident which put her in a full body cast for three months and in constant pain for the rest of her life. During both recoveries Frida’s love of art was what kept her sane. Of course, she had her moments of despair and pain but her love of painting always got her through it. This is exemplified through the lines, “After the accident, life will never be the same for Frida. She will walk with a cane-when she is able to walk. Her body will hurt, always. But Frida doesn’t cry or complain. Instead of crying, she paints pictures of herself crying. When she can’t leave bed, she paints in bed. When her whole torso is put in a cast, she paints on the cast.” These lines showcase how Frida took all the immense pain she had in her life and turned it into something beautiful and positive. I believe the main idea of “Frida” is to remain positive even in the most terrible of situations. After having polio and then being in a horrific accident, Frida could have easily been depressed and given up on her art. Instead of doing this Frida took the unfortunate circumstances in her life and turned them into her beautiful paintings. Frida’s story is a true inspiration for all people who are struggling and a testament to never giving up. show less

I liked this biographical book. The writing is the first thing I noticed. It doesn’t seem like a normal, informational biography. For the young audience, it seemed like it was turned into more of a story than simple facts about Frida’s life. Instead of saying something like “At age six, Frida fell ill with polio,” the story said, “All of the sudden, Frida falls very ill.” The author even mentions, “Even her imaginary friend can’t cheer her on.” In giving more emotion to the show more story of her life, the author does seem a bit biased and supportive toward the artist’s life, but it does make it more interesting for readers. Making the biography more of a story, it adds more plot, another aspect of why I liked this book. The growth in emotional attachment to Frida makes the suspense rise in points of the book such as when younger Frida falls sick or when older Frida gets into the accident. Overall, the message or idea is to inform readers about Frida Kahlo’s life. It was done so in a short, story-like manner to better appeal to a younger audience. show less