Anno's Spain

The picture book by Mitsumasa is a wonderfully drawn story with no words, but nevertheless, the story gives children a great idea of Spanish culture. You can spend lots of time on one page looking at all of the little details which tell the story. Mitsumasa has beautiful illustrations of cities, villages, churches, the people and the pastimes of Spain. I loved following Mitsumasa on his horse to these journeys. He brings out the images of the culture, the festivals, the kids playing soccer, running through the streets, dancing in the streets, and etc. All of that gives the sense of a close community and the field workers working with olive oil gives you a sense of a hard working community. I believe the theme of the story is to teach us show more and give us insight about Spain and what it is like. The setting is beautiful. show less

"Anno's Spain" is a picture book that takes the reader on a tour of Spain. Since the novel is wordless, the detailed illustrations tell the story. The reader gets to see the calm countryside as well as the bustling city center. I enjoyed this book because I was able to construct my own story. I believe this novel would be great for students because they can use their imagination, create their own story and be immersed in a new culture.

This was a very detailed, intricate visual book. I see alot of potential for this book, because children can really using their imagination and practice sentence building. The illustrations were phenomenal.

My son enjoyed pointing things out and asking questions about these beautifully detailed illustrations.

Anno's Spain takes us through a series of detailed pictorials form Spain. The reader is exposed to a city located next the beautiful blue coast of South America on the first page. There are markets, bars, churches, and hospitality corners located within the towns. This story show a sequence from the water front property to the town's center square where festivals take place. Some country side property that leads into another city where bulls are running into the street. People are located throughout the book and the city shows the close relationship between the town's people. This is a journey through the beautiful place called Spain.

Personal Response: I was so impressed by the intricacy of the illustrations. They remind me of Japanese woodblock prints.
Curricular Connection: In a First Grade Classroom, students can take turns narrating the pages. Students can narrate one page, or the entire book.

A Great Visual Odyssey!