Dear Primo

March 15, 2010
Carlitos lives in Mexico and his cousin Charlie lives in an American city. Though they have never met, they compare their daily routines through letters. “Every morning I ride my bicicleta
to school,” Carlitos writes. Charlie takes the subway, which he compares to “a long metal snake.” Tonatiuh draws from ancient Mexican art for his collages—always shown in profile, Carlitos and Charlie have oversize hands and feet and stylized facial features, almost like stone statues—while skyscrapers and graffiti provide modern flair. It's a subtly reflective story about friendship and commonalities. Ages 4–8.

March 1, 2010
K-Gr 3-Tonatiuh compares and contrasts the daily lives of two cousins, or "primos". Charlie is American, and Carlitos is Mexican. Charlie enjoys a slice of pizza after school, while Carlitos helps his mother make quesadillas. Charlie cools off in an open fire hydrant, while Carlitos jumps into a small "rio". The writing is simple yet peppered with imagery that enhances it significantly: "Skyscrapers are buildings so tall they tickle the clouds" or "The subway is like a long metal snake and it travels through tunnels underground." Twenty-seven Spanish words are sprinkled throughout the text, easily understood from the context and explained in a glossary. Tonatiuh's hand-drawn, then digitally colored and collaged illustrations were influenced by the art of the Mixtecs, one of the major civilizations of Mesoamerica. While the pictures are attractive and carefully composed, one small problem might be that all the faces, young or old, male or female, are identicalonly their hairstyles change, and at no time do any of the characters make eye contact. This accurately reflects Mixtec tradition, but may be a bit disconcerting for children unless put into context. Otherwise, this is an excellent tool for explaining how cultures connect."Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2010
Grades 1-3 This spin on the traditional tale of a city mouse and a country mouse explores the lives of Charlie, in urban America, and his cousin Carlitos, who lives in Mexicos countryside. As the two boys write snail-mail back and forth, they describe their respective homes (an apartment for Charlie, a farm for Carlitos), methods of transportation, favorite sports, food, and cultural traditions. The alternating letters are printed in distinct fonts, and Carlitos messages integrate Spanish words, which are then helpfully duplicated next to a corresponding image and included with pronunciations in the appended glossary. The digitally enhanced collage illustrations are based on traditional Mixtec art, and show the characters posed in profile in simply composed scenes. This useful method of comparing and contrasting can serve as a fine general introduction to contemporary rural life in Mexico, while it also demonstrates the fun of having a pen pal and reinforces the sense that kids around the world are more alike than different.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2010
Two cousins, one in Mexico and the other in America, write letters to each other about their everyday lives. Facing pages demonstrate how their cultural differences are far less important than their commonalities. Take the boys' favorite foods, for example: it's quesadillas for Carlitos and pizza for Charlie. Side-by-side illustrations show similar images: both boys seated, with food in hand. A clever, well-executed conceit.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)