Evaluation

This is probably one of the greatest color concept books I have read in a long time. The illustrations are absolutely breathtaking and extremely vibrant. I also loved how the pictures affiliated with the colors were parts of the Spanish culture. The words also rhyme with one another improving a child’s phonological awareness. One of the most unique aspects of this story was the attention to the beat and rhythm of the words. The author uses words such as “rattle-rap rassmatazz” and “zinging on a string” to create a steady beat throughout every page. The teacher may choose to have the students quietly snap or tap a beat with their fingers or even read this together in a whispering chant to create a musical effect. Obviously this a wonderful book for teaching young students basic colors in English and Spanish, but it also creates many opportunities for artistic projects. The teacher may decide to use this book during an introductory Spanish unit or the teacher may have the students create one page of a color book that will then be bound together and published within the classroom. For example, you could give everyone in your classroom one number and then illustrate this number with an object, interesting person, place or thing. You may even decide to create an “English” equivalent of this story and instead of Spanish artifacts, choose English artifacts that represent the number on the page.