Angels Ride Bikes and Other Fall Poems: Los angeles andan bicicletas (The Magical Cycle of the Seasons Series) (English and Spanish Edition) - Hardcover

Alarcon, Francisco X.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 089239160X ISBN 13: 9780892391608

Publisher: Children's Book Press, 1999

Synopsis

In Angels Ride Bikes, Francisco Alarcón invites readers to experience autumn in Los Angeles, where dreams can come true. In the poet's imagination, mariachis play like angels, angels ride bikes, and the earth dances the cha-cha. In this bilingual edition, the images and the poems bring to life the people and places from Alarcón's childhood.

About this title

Reviews

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.
Reina Huerta, Young Women's Leadership School, New York City
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Edition details

• Publisher: Children's Book Press
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 089239160X
• ISBN 13: 9780892391608
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Gonzalez Maya Christina
• Number of pages: 32