Paco cannot seem to concentrate during class, but when his teacher takes him to the art room he revels in the colors and the opportunity to paint. - (Baker & Taylor)
Paco cannot seem to concentrate during class, but when his teacher takes him to the art room he revels in the colors and the opportunity to paint. Includes author's note and glossary of Spanish words. - (Baker & Taylor)
Meet a little boy named Paco who loves to draw but can't seem to concentrate during school in this picture book that's sprinkled with Spanish words!
Paco gazed out at the late-morning sun.
He wondered why recess had not yet begun.
He wanted to go to el campo and play,
and act like a matador shouting "¡Olé!"
Paco loves daydreaming and drawing, but he struggles to concentrate during class. When his profesor takes him to the art room, Paco is amazed by the colorful paints: pink, rosado; purple, morado; fiery orange, anaranjado; and more! Could art be just what Paco needs?
Complete with an author's note and glossary of Spanish words, this story is a great introduction to Spanish with a strong message about the power of art! - (Simon and Schuster)
Tracey Kyle grew up in New Jersey and spent much of her childhood reading and writing poems. After seeing the boy band Menudo perform on a Latino TV station in middle school, she decided to learn Spanish. She studied in Madrid, a lively city which inspired her first picture book, Gazpacho for Nacho. She spends most of her time as Señora Kyle, teaching Spanish to a fun group of eighth-graders. She currently lives in Virginia with her husband and two cats, and when she's not writing lesson plans or working on a new story, she loves to read, cook, and practice yoga.
Joshua Heinsz is a children's book illustrator. He has a love for bright and whimsical imagery with a flair for the fantastical and an air of nostalgia. When not drawing and painting, Joshua can be found working as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor. He currently lives in Chicago. - (Simon and Schuster)
Booklist Reviews
Paco dreams of being a bullfighter, napping underneath trees, and even just enjoying his lunch. But school just doesn't hold his attention—in fact, the classroom is where he does most of his daydreaming. When a teacher sees Paco's doodles of his pueblo and his family, he appreciates Paco's creative side and takes him to the art room, introducing him to colors, paints, brushes, and a blank canvas. Now, Paco can truly explore the world around him—as well as the one inside his dreams. The bright, vibrant colors first seen in the illustrations of Paco's imagination later reappear as he discovers painting, lending a whimsical, almost magical feel to this story. Rhyming couplets, in English with occasional bolded Spanish words, make this a natural read-aloud; context clues in the text and illustrations, as well as an appended glossary, will help emerging Spanish readers with the vocabulary. A bright, engaging story about a boy who finds something that's worth paying attention to. Copyright 2018 Booklist Reviews.
Horn Book Guide Reviews
Paco is a restless student with a vivid imagination; he'd rather daydream and draw than pay attention in class. When his profesor notices Paco's artistic talent, he is introduced to a whole new world: the art room. The serviceable rhyming text includes Spanish words sprinkled throughout. Bright colors bring the illustrations--and Paco's imagination--to vibrant life. Glos. Copyright 2019 Horn Book Guide Reviews.
Kirkus Reviews
Paco is a fidgety daydreamer. After his teacher reprimands him for not paying attention, the boy compromises by drawing during the lesson. His teacher is amazed by the artwork and takes him to the school's art studio, where the inexperienced artist miraculously knows how to mix paint. Alarmingly, no one seems concerned when Paco doesn't return to the classroom. Kyle's uncomplicated rhyming story employs code-switching to introduce Spanish-language vocabulary. However, the masculine form for teacher, el professor, is only used once—thereafter, it's used as if it were a proper name without the article "el"—an oversight that will strike many as amateurish. The rhymes and meters are at times forced and awkward. "He colored montañas that stretched to the sky, / with pájaros swooping down low, flying high." Heinsz's manga-inspired illustrations are bright but confusing. In one scene Paco is drawing his hometown seemingly somewhere in Spain, and then he's flyi ng over saguaros in the U.S. Southwest. A bullfighting motif is repeated by both author and illustrator despite its growing unpopularity worldwide and its representation of colonization. The author's note inadvertently implies that only minority kids "like Paco" are the restless ones. An uneven phonetic glossary is included. Some words are Anglicized while others are not. "Que" is "kay" instead of "keh," while "Olé" is correctly rendered "oh-LEH." Paco has black hair and brown skin, and his teacher presents white; his classroom is diverse. Not, alas, as strong as Kyle's earlier Gazpacho for Nacho (illustrated by Carolina Farías, 2014). (Picture book. 5-8) Copyright Kirkus 2018 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.
