Moon Rope/Un lazo a la luna - Softcover

Short, Deborah J; Tinajero, Josefina Villamil; Schifini, Alfredo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0152553436 ISBN 13: 9780152553432

Publisher: National Geographic School Pub, 1992

Synopsis

With the help of a grass rope and some friendly birds, Fox and Mole embark on an expedition to the moon, in a picture book adventure featuring colorful collage illustrations inspired by South American designs and motifs. By the author of Fish Eyes.

About this title

About the Authors

Dr. Short is a division director at the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) in Washington, D.C. She has worked as a teacher, trainer, researcher, and curriculum/materials developer. Her work at CAL has concentrated on the integration of language learning with content-area instruction. Through several national projects, she has conducted research and provided professional development and technical assistance to local and state education agencies across the United States. She directed the ESL Standards and Assessment Project for TESOL and co-developed the SIOP model for sheltered instruction.

Dr. Short's monographs include: Extend Your Students' Reach and Move Them Toward Independence, Base Your ESL Instruction in the Content Areas, Reach for the Common Core, Structural Supports for English Learners, Comprehensive and Responsive Assessment, and Developing Academic Literacy in Adolescents.

Dr. Tinajero specializes in staff development and school-university partnership programs and has consulted with school districts in the U.S. to design ESL, bilingual, literacy, and bi-literacy programs. She has served on state and national advisory committees for standards development, including the English as a New Language Advisory Panel of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards and the Texas Reading Academies. She is currently professor of Education and Interim Dean of the College of Education at the University of Texas at El Paso and was President of the National Association for Bilingual Education, 1997-2000.

Dr. Tinajero's monograph is titled Teaching the Fundamentals.

Dr. Schifini assists schools across the nation and around the world in developing comprehensive language and literacy programs for English learners. He has worked as an ESL teacher, reading specialist, school administrator and university professor. Through an arrangement with California State Polytechnic University at Pomona, Dr. Schifini currently serves as program consultant to two large teacher-training efforts in the area of reading for second language speakers of English. His research interests include early literacy and language development and the integration of language and content-area instruction.

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 3-- A retelling of a Peruvian pourquoi story, presented in English and Spanish, that is concise and funny. Mole is a practical fellow who longs only for ``Worms, worms, more worms.'' Fox, however, is a visionary; he wants to go to the moon. He deter: mines his method of access (a grass rope to be hooked around the bow of the crescent), chooses Mole as his companion, and, with the aid of some birds, sets off. He achieves his goal, his friend does not, and bits about the nature of the moon and the mole are explained in the process. Prince's stylish translation really shines. Her fox is so clearly obsessed with his project and so convincing in a used-car-salesman sort of way, that an oral telling cannot help but produce correct, funny inflections. Ehlert's cut-paper illustrations are striking. The bold colors range from earth tones to Day-Glo pinks, purples, and oranges, and her use of silver for Fox and for the moon is masterful. Shapes cut, apparently, by using the lines of rulers and templates as guides produce a remarkable, contemporary rendering of Peruvian folkart. Despite the use of fairly simple lines, the characters have personality and verve. The book's generous size makes this perfect for group sharing. Moon Rope can be used to give non-Spanish speakers an idea of the rhythm and cadence of that language. It is a fine purchase for folktale and picture-book collections as well as for ESL programs. --Ann Welton, Thomas Academy, Kent, WA
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In this imaginative take on an ancient Peruvian tale, Fox persuades Mole to climb with him on a grass rope he has braided and--with the birds' help--hitched to the moon. Fox trains his sight upward and is not seen again except by the birds, who claim they can spy him in the moon still. Mole, nervously looking downward, falls; the birds carry him back to earth amid the jeers of the other animals, and to this day he prefers his solitary tunnel. Simple though it is, this retelling emphasizes its timelessness as a story: on one hand there is the insatiable desire to transcend earthly bounds; on the other, the fear of the unknown. Ehlert's characteristic, highly stylized cut-paper figures, in deep, vibrant colors that are used to set off the evanescent silver of the fox, rope and moon, capture the myth's magic and dexterously suggest its pre-Columbian origins. The book's bilingual text provides valuable material for the ever-growing audience for multicultural children's books. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: National Geographic School Pub
• Publication date: 1992
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0152553436
• ISBN 13: 9780152553432
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32