Nos Vamos a Mexico! (Spanish Edition)

I thought Off We Go to Mexico was a good book for many reasons. First, I thought it provided a lot of useful information for readers unfamiliar with the country of Mexico. The description, travel information, social life, and customs were all described in detail. Another reason I found this book to

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be good, is because while it is very informative, it is written in a child-friendly way for the intended audience. For example, the entire book rhymed and used easy to understand language. For example, “We wandered through the capital, where there’s so much to see: the park, the zoo, museums too, and Aztec history.” I loved the author’s word choice here was much more effective than for instance stating “the capital has a zoo museum and Aztec history.” Finally, this boo contained a variety of useful features for readers who know little to no Spanish. The most noticeable feature is the list of Spanish vocabulary words that coincide with the English text. For example, for the quote stated above, the Spanish vocabulary list contained the words: capital/la capital, park/el parque, zoo/el zoologico, and museums/los museos. In addition to the useful vocabulary lists, the back of the book also contained a fact sheet about Mexico, a historical timeline, and list of basic Spanish phrases. Overall, I think this is a great book used to inform children readers about Mexican culture.

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I really do love the hispanic culture, so this book was very enjoyable for me. In my opinion, any child learning a second language, or is just interested in the Spanish language, this book would be very helpful in learning about it.
One reason this book would be great for a child learning a second

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language, is because the text is on the right page, but on the left page, there is spanish vocabulary about the things that are in the illustrations. I think that is a great idea because instead of questioning and having to look up what a word is, it's right there in the book for the child. Even me being a Spanish minor, I found words that I was unfamiliar with and thought it was very helpful.
Another reasons I like this book for children is because if a child is interested in the Mexican culture or the Spanish language, all that child has to do is turn to the back of the book. There the child will find pages with facts about Mexico, holidays, the history of Mexico, and first Spanish phrases. For example, with the first spanish phrases, it tells you how to say hello, how are you, what is your name, and simple beginner Spanish phrases.

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I liked this book for many reasons. First, the writing was extremely playful through rhymes. "We hop aboard the Canyon Train. Across the bridge we go. Up mountains steep, through tunnels deep. We dare not look below." This book also used both English and Spanish vocabulary to explain the

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illustrations on the page "subimos-we climb. las piramides- pyramids. hace mucho tiempo- long ago". This book also includes many insights to Mexico such as a list of informational facts, a map of Mexico, and history of Mexico throughout the storyline. The main idea of this book is to provide a window into Mexico and the history behind Mexican holidays and landmarks. This story is informative in a child-friendly way.

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This informational fictitious book was a lot of fun to read. Every page was vibrant and colorful and really gave me a feel for Mexico’s culture and traditions. Written in first person, the story details the adventures of seeing and experiencing Mexico’s festivals, beaches, parades, music, and

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many other aspects. The rhymes in the book make the reader feel as if they are there, in Mexico, experiencing these things too. When I read, “We clap our feet to music by mariachi bands, who strum guitars beneath the stars and sing, as we clap our hands,” I couldn’t help but to want to tap my feet as well. The descriptive, lively text engages students which can enhance their learning and understanding of the Hispanic culture. Students can see that there is more to the world than what they view as the norm. There are also word banks at the bottom of every page that depict the meaning of key words in both Spanish and English. For example, the word ‘water’ is ‘el agua,’ and is at the bottom of the first page when the narrator describes the beach. Overall, this book provides students with a positive outlook on the Mexican culture, and they can learn Spanish along the way.

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I really enjoyed this book not only for how it was written, but also for the bright illustrations. Each page was a new adventure in Mexico. The word banks on each page are excellent for readers who want to learn more than just the culture, now they can actually speak (some) of the language! The

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various adventures on each page are a wonderful example of the history of Mexico, music, markets, flags, parades, and so much more. This rhyming book is a great way to teach children about other cultures. The book ends with a map of Mexico, which allows children to visually see where Mexico is, and how far away they are from the country. The holiday section allows readers to notice similarities and differences between the holidays they celebrate, and the holidays typically celebrated in Mexico. This is a fun read for all ages!

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Off We Go to Mexico by Laurie Krebs and Christopher Corr is about different aspects of Mexican culture. These include going to the beach, going to festivals in the village square, pyramids from ancient Mexico, and mariachi bands along with other things.
I liked this book because it gives an

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insight into parts of Mexican culture and things you can find in Mexico. The illustrations in this book do a great job of portraying the story and there is even a page that has a map of Mexico with drawings of important things in those cities. Another part of the book that I liked was that it translated some of the key English words in the story to Spanish, for example in the text it would say “water” and on the other page it said “water- agua.” This is good for children to start to develop their knowledge of the Spanish language. Another part of the writing I liked was there were rhymes within the story that kept a good flow to the writing, for example “We swim in turquoise water and build castles on the beach, we climb up rocks or watch from rocks to see the grey whale breach.” I think the main idea of the story was just to give an insight on the culture of Mexico. The authors did this very well by giving a lot of examples of things in Mexican culture, like the ancient Mexican pyramids and festivals in the village square.

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I liked this book for two reasons. First, I liked that the language was patterned. A lot of lines and phrases rhymed that made the book more interesting and easy to read. For example, one line said, “We circle round’ the plaza and we hear the stamping feet. As dancers twirl, their costumes

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swirl to the guitars beat.” I also like this because it’s descriptive and when I read it I can create an image in my head of what it all looks like. Second, I really liked the illustrations. There were bright, colorful pictures that you could tell depicted culture. The men and women wore colorful, patterned clothing. The women wore their hair in braids, dresses when they danced, and jewelry. The men typically wore sombreros. Lastly, my favorite part about this book was that each page had words in Spanish translated to English but more than that, the words that were given were things you could find in the illustration on that page. One page I saw had a festival going on with tables and food, so on the bottom of the page there was something that said “food- la comida”. The main idea of this book was to describe and show how unique the culture in Mexico is.

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I liked this picture book for several reasons. First, the book introduces Spanish vocabulary. On the right page, a particular place or event would be discussed, then on the left page, key vocabulary words are translated from English to Spanish. For example, one page discussed the beach. On the

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adjacent page, words such as water, beach, and whales, are translated as el agua, la playa, and las ballenas. This strategy allows readers to be introduced to the Spanish language without losing the meaning of the text. Second, the bright and vivid illustrations add interest to the book. They display aspects of the Mexican culture that are being discussed on the pages. The illustrations depict Mariachi bands, food markets, Mexican Independence Day celebrations, Aztec Indians, and more. Finally, I appreciated the final pages of the book that gave factual information about Mexico. One page has a map that includes pictures of things that can be seen in different areas of Mexico. For example, in Teotihuacan, there is a picture of pyramids. Facts about Mexico and its history are present as well.

The big idea of this book is to display the unique and special culture in Mexico.

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I really enjoyed this simple, sweet story. Most importantly I love the bright and colorful illustrations the book had. The illustrations really brought the reader’s attention into the story and made the story more enjoyable. Every page had a different topic with all types of different pictures

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with lots of detail on each piece of the page. With so many different pictures, the reader can’t wait to see what happens next.
I also really enjoyed how the author included cultural diversity in the story. The story talks about Mexico, which some readers may not know, and just the fun and exciting stuff that you can do there. Every country has negatives, but the author only talks about the positives that a Mexican American can be proud they are from and an American can dream about visiting one day. It’s a positive book that can help the reader learn more about a different place.
The big idea in this story was just to share how fun and beautiful Mexico is. The readers go through all types of activities you can do in Mexico, to all the beautiful things you can see. The story brings out the positive of a new country.

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