Los angeles andan en bicicleta - Angels Ride Bikes, Del Sol Books

Author : Francisco X Alarcon, Illustrator : Maya Christina Gonzalez
Preschool - 2nd Grade

2000 Notable Book for a Global Society Award Winner
1999 NAPPA—National Parenting Publication Award—Gold Award in the Category of Books of Folklore, Poetry & Song
1999 Parent's Choice Picture Book Recommendation
1999 Américas Award Commended Title

In Angels Ride Bikes, Francisco Alarcón invites us to experience fall in Los Angeles—the City of the Angels—where dreams can come true. In the poet's whimsical imagination, mariachis play like angels, angels ride bikes, and the earth dances the cha-cha-cha. Alarcón celebrates the simple joys and trials of everyday life: a visit to the outdoor market, the arrival of the ice cream vendor, the first day of school. He honors his family and pays tribute to his mother, who taught him that with hard work and education he could realize his dreams. Maya Christina Gonzalez's spirited images perfectly complement each poem, bringing to life the people and places in Alarcón's childhood. This is the third seasonal bilingual poetry collection by Alarcón and Gonzalez.

Listen to Vienna Rose read Angels Ride Bike to you. A marvelous example of the magical encounter between a child and books that we wish for all children.

"An impressive assortment of bilingual verses and brilliant art . . . Gonzalez does an equally wonderful job with the art. She is never afraid to dip her brush in a palette of wild colors, from blues and purples to yellows and browns." —Oakland Tribune

"Welcome this new collection and then await the winter addition to complete the seasonal quartet." —Booklist

"Los Angeles is celebrated in bilingual poems, and in paintings as bold and extroverted as the great multicultural city itself." —L.A. Parent

"The poems … will, no doubt, introduce many grandchildren to the language of their grandparents." —MultiCultural Review

School Library Journal : Grade 1-4-A delightful and colorful collection of bilingual poems from the author of Laughing Tomatoes & Other Spring Poems (1997) and From the Bellybutton of the Moon & Other Summer Poems (1998, both Children's Book Press). Alarcon opens this book with "Los Angeles," a tribute to the city in which he grew up: "here people/come from all/over the world/to make/their dreams/come true." The author's Mexican-American heritage shines through as he shares poems about platanos, strawberry and lemon flavored popsicles, his abuela, his first day of school as a non-English speaker, and el Dia de los Muertos. Footnotes offer explanations for unfamiliar terms in Spanish and English. Gonzalez's innovative and lively paintings complement the playful and vivacious tone of the poems. An excellent read-aloud in any season.

Parents Choice : Poems in Spanish and English combine with large, vivid pictures to relate a wonderful story celebrating the daily encounters of city life. The detailed illustrations are full of life. The Spanish text is richer in rhythm and rhyme than the English, which does capture the meaning well. A 1999 Parents' Choice® Recommendation.

Kirkus Reviews : Alarcn summons the Los Angeles of his youth in this fine collection of poems that are rendered in both English and Spanish, and complemented by Gonzalez's merry painted photographs. In unrhymed verse, Alarcn celebrates a city that provided opportunities for his large family. Riding high here is the love of a mother and father who toil like demons while offering encouragement, protection, and warmth; of a grandmother, a wise and emboldening soul, who steps in when his parents are at work; of the neighborhood, with its memorable characters; and of the markets and the playful images they offer. Bananas make him think that ``each bunch is a natural wonder/a splendid baseball glove.'' Not all is fruity and bright in Alarcn's world, e.g., the work his parents do is hard and mean, it is not easy for him to make the adjustment to a new school, and the city's pollution: ``from a window I look at the dirty gray air/I imagine trees crying in distress.'' A tribute to a city, and to abiding family love. (Picture book/poetry. 5-9)