Abuela

I thought this was a great book because of the combination of pictures, language, and overall message of the story. Abuela is about a girl who loves to take adventures with her spanish Grandma, and day dreams that the two of them could fly around the world, to and from her Abuela's Spanish homeland.
The pictures are full of detail and different colors. Each picture is carefully drawn uniquely. The pictures represent the scenes described in the text. There is so much detailing to the pictures they make the scenes more realistic and relatable. On a page where the main character imagines her and her Abuela flying over cities, the picture shows hundreds of windows and people with all different designs on the buildings, clothing, and show more streets. For a child, these pictures help grasp their attention and make the reading more enjoyable.
The language and writing is descriptive. I liked how the writing included spanish words that were defined in the glossary in the back, but also defined within the context. An example would be when she imagines them gliding over the sea and her Abuela says, "Cerca del mar." She explains that her and her Abuela almost touch the tops of waves, because "Cerca del mar" meant "close to sea," in Spanish. Another aspect of the writing I liked was how imaginative it was. It included phrases that made you paint a picture in your head such as "What if they picked me up and carried me high above the park?" and "What if I could fly?" I thought this was a great addition to the text for children because it helps them create a picture in their head while they're reading.
Lastly, the overall message and content was important. This girl in the story had a Grandma who came from a different country, but shared some parts of her culture. The story helps students have a different perspective on different cultures, and explains that it's okay to come from a family of a different background.Throughout the story, the main character embraces her Abuela's background and describes it proudly. When she is imagining them flying over cities, she describes that people unload food from ships from "the land abuela grew up- mangos, bananas, papayas." She is proud to know her Abuela's past. This story can also be relatable to any child who is with a relative and imagines a fantasy situation. show less

I loved this book for many reasons. The main reason I enjoyed this read is that it is culturally relevant to anyone with a grandmother, or abuela, but especially relevant to the Hispanic community. The illustrations were beautifully done and are realistic. The clothes of the characters reflect the clothes of a family of Hispanic descent who have immigrated to the United States. The illustrations are colorful and very bright. They draw the reader’s attention to every single detail and illustrate the emotions the characters are feeling as well as what the reader should be feeling. I loved that the story was relatable but also unrealistic. The young girl and her grandmother fly over the city landscape, which is impossible in real life. show more However, by doing this it gives the reader a new perspective into the lives of the characters. I enjoyed that the story is narrated in English and incorporates Spanish phrases this allows the reader to understand bits of the language the characters are most familiar with. The main purpose of this story is to transport the reader into the imagination of a young girl and inform them that it is okay to have a wild imagination just like her. show less

A fanciful story filled with aerial views and melodious harmonizing of Spanish and English, a little girl goes on a flying adventure with her grandmother. They see many sights around New York. Little imaginative touches such as comparing her grandma’s skirt to a sail or the clouds to gatos y osos entice the reader to fly alongside the pair as they explore the beginning of Grandmother’s life here in the states by seeing the airport where her plane landed, the unloading at the docks of imported fruits from the land of her origin, and the symbol of freedom and refuge for immigrants: the Statue of Liberty.

Illustrations - Fanciful illustrations show realities of every day life in New York city but in a magical way. Many fabrics and show more patterns adorn the pictures and can be seen in everything from clothing, to blankets at the park, sails upon the ocean, to even buildings seen from on high.

Uses- in classroom or storytime, teacher or librarian can help students discover the Spanish language and explore the symbolism and history of the Statute of Liberty. show less

In this sweet book, a young girl goes on a grand flying adventure over the park with her Grandma. They have a wonderful time exploring everything in the city. The illustrations are detailed and colorful and absolutely gorgeous. The text is in part English and some Spanish, with helpful context clues. There is also a glossary of Spanish terms and their meanings in the back of the book. This can be used to teach beginning Spanish and Spanish culture.

In this lovely classic, the little girl Rosalba imagines taking a flight with her grandmother (abuela) over the city of Manhattan. Each site they see inspires a memory from Abuela, and so conveys something about the grandmother’s culture. Since Abuela speaks mostly Spanish, the little girl translates. While overhead, they see colorful scenes loaded with people, dogs, food, stores, famous buildings, cars, apartment houses, and activities. The pictures, mixed-media collages done with a folkloric look and stressing the multicultural nature of the city, are vibrant and packed with things to identify.

I also checked an all-Spanish edition of this book, and had no trouble discerning what was going on just from Elisa Kleven's illustrations. I show more can see children spending hours of delight searching through all the details in the pictures. Both the Spanish and English editions include words and phrases in the other language along with definitions, woven seamlessly into the very cute story. show less

This is a great picture book that is full of color and detailed illustrations. ELL students can connect to the book and allows English native speakers understand or gain background knowledge of Spanish vocabulary words. This book can be used during language arts or even social studies because they traveled and went to different places around the city.

Abuela is an enchanting story of a girl and her Abuela (spanish for Grandmother) and the wonderful relationship they have. They love adventures whether real or in their imaginations. I love the incorporation of the Spanish language in this text and the beautiful illustrations make the story come alive.