Gathering the Sun, Del Sol Books

Author : Alma Flor Ada, Illustrator : Simon Silva, Translator : Rosa Zubizarreta, Musician : Suni Paz
Preschool and Up

$121.38 for the Bilingual Collection Green Books and CDs Set, Including 20%-Off, Free Shipping, and No Sales Tax : 5 Hardcover Bilingual Books, 4 Softcover Bilingual Books, 2 Bilingual Music CDs, and 1 Spanish Music CD

$333.83 for the Story Collection Pura Belpre Spanish Set, Including 20%-Off, Free Shipping, and No Sales Tax : 2 Hardcover Spanish Book, 8 Hardcover Bilingual Book, 19 Softcover Spanish Books, and 12 Softcover Bilingual Books

Pura Belpre Award Honor Book in 1998 for Illustration
American Booksellers Association, Pick of the List
California Reader's Collection, Elementary List
Center for Latin American Studies, America´s Commended List
National Council of Social Studies and the Children’s Book Council, Notable Book in the Area of Social Studies
National Council of Teachers of English, Notable Book in the Area of Language Arts
Simon Weisenthal Center, Museum of Tolerance, Once Upon a World Award

The author’s many years of work with migrant families inspired this poetic ABC of the fields, and Simón Silva’s magnificent illustrations have created a work of art to be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

Author's Note : Some of the most heartening experiences of my life have been my work with Migrant Farm Working families. I have described the academic results of sharing high quality children’s books with Migrant parents and inviting them to create books with their children in Pájaro Valley, California in the book A Magical Encounter : Use of Latino Literature in the Classroom. I have described my work with farm working parents, and the learning I derived from it, in my memoirs, Vivir en dos idiomas. The poems of Gathering the Sun were born out of these enriching experiences. Simón Silva, who knew intimately the life in the fields during his childhood and has drawn from the heritage of the great Mexican muralists provided strong and magnificent illustrations that have made this book the true homage to the farm workers lives and struggles that I dreamt to create. It has given me unsurpassable joy to sign this book for golden anniversaries of grandparents and for birthday gifts, for quinceañeras, new born babies and babies yet to be born, realizing that in each case the book is a symbol of the strength, the resilience, the determination, the dignity and the profound love of family of those who work in the fields and whose labor allows us all to live. Suni’s unique voice and her masterful compositions have allowed the words in this book to transcend their birth as poems becoming unforgettable songs. My gratitude to Suni and Simón, for allowing this homage to César Chávez and all campesinos to be as inspiring as his example and their lives.

Watch or Listen to Vienna Rose read Gathering the Sun to you. A marvelous example of the magical encounter between a child and books that we wish for all children. And here's an earlier reading by Vienna Rose.

Allison's Blog : Gathering the Sun: An Alphabet in Spanish and English by Alma Flor Ada is a collection of simple poems for children. There is a different poem for each letter of the Spanish alphabet depicting the lives of Latin Americans in various aspects. The poems are written in both Spanish and English. They are each short in length and are different from one another. They are mostly about migrant workers and they speak of things such as work in the fields, fruits and vegetables, stars in the sky, love, and leisurely activities. There are young boys and girls, men and women seen in the illustrations that depict the main ideas of each of the different poems. This book is both written and illustrated by insiders of the culture and is an excellent piece of authentic Latin American children's literature. The poems and pictures address migrant work realistically by depicting the physical labor and long hard hours without giving it a lack of admiration and respect. The poem titled "Thanks" is of a young girl giving thanks for all of the positive things she has in her life. The poem titled "Honor" is of a young boy speaking of the honorable work him and his family do in the fields. While the book portrays the migrant workers as having little on a material level, the poems titled "Thanks", "Pride", and "Honor" show that this did not affect their happiness. This is also reinforced through the illustrations where the characters are depicted with smiles on their faces, as content with their jobs, and as happy when they are together at the dinner table or sitting outside with their families. Another poem titled "Love" speaks of the strong bond and closeness between family members and extended family members. Pride of the Spanish language and Mexico are also themes in this piece of literature. These are all common values that are often held by members of this culture and therefore add to the books authenticity.

School Library Journal : PreSchool - Grade 5 An alphabet book with exceptional illustrations and excellent poetry that gives voice to the experience of Hispanic agricultural workers. Each letter is matched with a Spanish word (for example, "Arboles" for "A") and accompanied by a poem in both Spanish and English that describes how the plant, fruit, vegetable, person, or feeling functions in the lives of these workers. Zubizarreta's English translations are informed and graceful, but predictably cannot match the Spanish originals in rhythm, assonance, or meter. Silva's vibrant, double-page, gouache illustrations are reminiscent of the artwork of Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco. The colors are brilliant, and the scope has a certain larger-than-life sense to it. This is a book that begs to be read aloud to all students, whether they are Spanish speaking or not. The sound of the poems will draw them in. The touching elegy for Cesar Chavez successfully imparts the impact of a heroic man on his people. Whether used to show the plight of migrant workers or the pride Hispanic laborers feel in their heritage, this is an important book.

Booklist : Ages 5-8 Using the Spanish alphabet as a template, Ada has written 27 poems that celebrate both the bounty of the harvest and the Mexican heritage of the farmworkers and their families. The poems, presented in both Spanish and English, are short and simple bursts of flavor: "Árboles/Trees," "Betabel/Beet," "César Chávez," etc. Silva's sun-drenched gouache paintings are robust, with images sculpted in paint. Brimming with respect and pride, the book, with its mythic vision of the migrant farm worker, will add much to any unit on farming or Mexican American heritage.

The Horn Book : "These brief poems honor the lives of migrant farmwokers and celebrate an alphabetic list of spanish words."

Amazon : In simple words and sun-drenched paintings, Alma Flor Ada and Simón Silva take us into the fields and orchards, and into the lives of the people who work them. Simple poems in Spanish and English, one for each letter of the Spanish alphabet, describe the wonder of the vegetable and fruit farms. Together, the poems and the rich illustrations celebrate the glory of nature and the hearts of all who dedicate their lives to working the land.

Google : Moving in its simplicity and candor, this collection of poems tells the story of Hispanic migrant farm workers and their deep connections to the earth they till. Each gentle poem begins with a letter of the Spanish alphabet and appears in both Spanish and English. Vibrant gouache paintings wash each page in color from dawn to twilight in a work that celebrates a people, a language, and the land. The American Library Association has named Gathering the Sun a Pura Belpre Honor Book for its portrayal, affirmation, and celebration of the Latino cultural experience in literature.

Listen to a sample song from Gathering the Sun's 27 songs by clicking on the highlighted CD title below.

27-Song Gathering the Sun CD
A : Árboles
B : Betabel
C/Ch : César Chávez
D : Duraznos
E/F : Estrellas o flores?
G : Gracias
H : Honor
I : Isla
J : Jardin
K : Kiosco de cerezas
L : Lechuga
Ll : Lluvia
M : México
N : Nopalera
N : Niña campesina
O : Orgullo
P : Pájaro
Q : Querer
R : Regar
S : Surco
T : Tomates
U : Uno
V : Violetas
W : Farmworkers
X : Xochitl
Y : Yucaán
Z : Zanahoria