Cinco De Mayo (Rookie Read-About Holidays)
Reviewed with Uma Krishnaswami'sHoli.K-Gr. 2. These titles in the ongoing Rookie Read-About Holidays series introduce two holidays in a format designed for beginning readers. Both books combine crisp color photographs with a few sentences per page, printed in large type set against bright white backgrounds.Holibriefly retells the Hindu holiday's story before describing the raucous, colorful ways that the day--a "holiday when everyone can be a kid!"--is celebrated.Cinco de Mayois equally succinct. It outlines the events that led up to the Battle of Puebla in remarkably simple terms, and then shows various aspects of contemporary festivities, including a mariachi band, dancers, parades, and so on. Presenting only the basics, the books will leave many children with questions, including the location of Mexico and India (no maps are included). But these holidays are often overlooked in books for youth, especially for this age group, and the pictures and words combine to offer bright, serviceable introductions. A vocabulary review closes each book.Gillian EngbergCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.