What Can You Do with a Paleta?

May 15, 2009
Preschool-G When the tinkly bell sounds in the barrio, children race to the paleta wagon for the cool sweet Popsicle-like treat. Posing the title question, the poet suggests playful, far-fetched, thoughtful, and practical ideas, concluding the very best thing to do with a paleta is to lick it, and slurp it, and sip it and munch it and gobble it all down. Acrylic illustrations portray stylized doll-like human figures in a barrio that simmers in hot shades of orange, red, and yellow. In contrast, the cool paleta colors seem especially enticing. An appealing introduction to a yummy aspect of Latino culture. Pair this with the authors earlier What Can You Do with a Rebozo? (2008) or with Yuyi Morales Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book (2003).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2009
A Mexican American girl waxes rhapsodic over the paletas (ice pops) that arrive in her barrio every summer. What seems like a narrow subject becomes larger with each page turn: the book is ultimately a portrait of a tight-knit community celebrating one of its traditions. The acrylics are rendered in warm, fruity colors. The bilingual edition nicely incorporates Spanish text on the pages.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)