Carlos and the Carnival/Carlos y la feria (Bilingual) (Carlos Series) (English, Multilingual and Spanish Edition) - Hardcover

Text: English, Spanish

Grade 1-3-Fans of Carlos and the Squash Plant (1993), Carlos and the Cornfield (1995), and Carlos and the Skunk (1997, all Rising Moon) will want to read about the child's adventures at the fair. This tale finds him once again ignoring good advice and, in this case, spending all of his money. In a wholesomely innocuous story line, he and his friend Gloria eat sopaipillas, buy various trinkets, enjoy the rides, and lose money on games of chance. Carlos's funding is restored, however, when his rabbit wins "Best of Show," resulting in a prize of five dollars and a blue ribbon. The lengthy text, a trifle static in English, is rendered into a colloquial and stylish Spanish. Arnold's primitive oils on gessoed watercolor paper, though big and bright, appear a bit stiff and amateurish. This cautionary tale could be used with Helen Lester's Me First (Houghton, 1992) to drive home the idea of a lesson well learned.
Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA
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