My Colors, My World

by Maya Christina González, Maya Gonzalez

Little Maya longs to find brilliant, beautiful, inspiring color in her world.…but Maya’s world, the Mojave Desert, seems to be filled with nothing but sand. With the help of a feathered friend, she searches everywhere to discover color in her world. In the brilliant purple of her mother's flowers, the cool green of a cactus, the hot pink sunset, and the shiny black of Papi's hair, Maya finally finds what she was looking for. The book’s appealing narrative and bold illustrations encourage early readers to observe and explore, and to discover the colors in their own

Genres: Picture Books, Cultural, Childrens, Spanish Literature, Storytime, Family, Fiction

24 pages, Hardcover

First published July 16, 2007

Reviews

[Zandra Cardenas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story My Colors, My World Spanish version is a book about colors around a little girl. The main character in the story is the author of the book Maya Christina Gonzalez. This book was awarded with: Pura Belpre Illustrator Award Honor, Criticas Magazine’s Best Children and YA Books of the Year, Texas 2x2 Reading List Selection, and Texas Library Association. In the book the girl introduces the colors in her home and neighborhood the way she sees them. In her eyes, her surroundings are the same color. She grew up in the desert which often had sand storms. The sand storms covered the whole place giving a sand color to all things around her. She described what colors she liked to see outside and portrayed the beauty of the world in a simple but colorful way. The colorful and detailed illustrations transported me to the area where the story was made and can transport children too, traveling and discovering the wonders of our country and the world.
I will use this book in grades Pre-K through 2 grades. In the early ages (Pre-K and K) students can learn the colors using this book as a piece of art. In other grades, students can use it as an inspiration for how students see the world around them.

[zabarj · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author: Maya Christina Gonzalez
Copyright: 2010
Interest Level: 2-5 grades

Summary:After escaping from his cage, Perico, a parrot, sees his family preparing for a Cinco de Mayo celebration and wants to be part of the excitement. He volunteers to help make tamales, reciting a line he learned from little Martita: "Let me help! Let me help!" His offers are repeatedly brushed away by family members as they make paper flowers and pan dulce and practice their trumpets. Discouraged, Perico follows the family's barge and watches as its topmost decoration hits a bridge and falls into the San Antonio River. At that moment, he perches atop the barge and saves the day as only he can. The vibrant and festive colors used throughout invite readers into the celebration, and the images are true to the people they portray. The bilingual text is fluid in both Spanish and English, and the subject is sure to spark interest in the holiday. With this story, Ada reminds children that good intentions are the best help that anyone can offer.

My take: Vibrant, expressive illustrations and bilingual text introduce young children to colors in both Spanish and English while encouraging children to see the beauty in the world around them. The author/illustrator never saw herself in her picture books as a child and has now created one that positively represents Latino children! Fantastic!

[Aly Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little girl tells us she lives in the desert and must search her world for colors. She goes around her home pointing out the colors in her world alongside her bird. Tells us her favorite color is pink and where she finds certain colors. This story teaches students their colors in both English and Spanish. The left page is in English, while the right side repeats the left side in Spanish. Artwork illustrates the story on every page. This book will be best used for kindergarten students and younger. It can help teach students their colors in both English and Spanish while keeping them entertained. Female students that know both languages or are learning English will enjoy this book. Though, any child can learn from this story. In a small group setting, students can practice their colors in both languages. They can also play a game of I Spy to help learn their colors together. This can also be done with the entire class at once. The teacher can point at a color and ask the students to say the color in both Spanish and English. The entire class can also play a game of I Spy together, and winners can be given a small treat as a reward. A similar book that can be read is Rainbow Fish. It explores the colors in the sea and helps teach children their colors. My colors, my world does not have any multimedia connections.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Colors, My World Mis colores, mi mundo, by Maya Christina Gonzalez, is the story of Maya, and her quest to find bright and beautiful color in the desert where she lives. She describes what happens when a windstorm hits and everything is the same beige color. She explains that she has to open her eyes very wide to find the colors in her world. Each page is written in English and Spanish.

This book beautifully explores color. The author puts much emphasis on the size, beauty, and brightness of Maya’s, and all of the character’s eyes. After all they are all searching for colors in their sand-drenched world! The detail and descriptions are enchanting. I absolutely loved this book!

I think that there are many ways to use this book with children. Obviously it could be used with kids who are learning English or Spanish. Young children, who are learning their colors, would love the rich artwork and detail on every page. Older students could explore color and the elements of style used in the painted pictures. Finally, teachers who are doing units on the desert could use this book to study the plant life, animal life, and weather patterns.

[Elizabeth Gonzalez · Rating 3 out of 5]

The storyline of the book is about this little Latin girl who describes colors that she sees in her world. Most of the colors she talks about are colors she sees outside in the nature the “yellow pollen peeks at me” she talks about the peek as if it was a human she gave life to these objects. I love how the book supports two different languages Spanish and English. I did and didn’t like the book. I think I didn’t like the book because of the way words in the book were worded. The words in Spanish are even difficult to pronounce I don’t know if it’s that I’ve never heard those words in Spanish. I did like how the book is bilingual and includes different cultures. The book is joining two cultures together to make them feel one. I think younger children would be able to relate to similar colors in their world by saying they also see the same colors as they walk outside their community. I would emphasize the colors in both Spanish and English language for them to be able to hear them and repeat the words. I feel children shouldn’t be limited to speak just one language.

[Beth Rice · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maya Christina Gonzalez wrote and illustrated this Pura Belpré Honor Book about a young girl, she based on herself that sees beauty in all the colors that surround her in the desert she lives. The text is written in English with the Spanish translation on the opposite page. The text is rich and descriptive of all the colorful things that envelop the girl in her own backyard. Within the text the color words are written in the color of the object. The illustrations are just as rich as the text. I especially like when the sand covers everything making it bland and brown, and the girl slowly opens her eyes to reveal all the colors. It is a great book to read with young students and lead to conversations about the power of imagination.

[L- Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author and illustrator, Maya Christina Gonzalez created this picture book to reflect herself as a child, using the colors of nature to reflect her world growing up. Gonzalez begins this K-2 story in the desert, adding color from flowers, birds, plants and her family as she builds the story. The imagery of colors is inspiring. It supports basic concepts for the early grades, offering a creative starting point for defining their own world with colors. My Colors, My World is a Pura Belpre Honor Book and is part of the Americas collection.

[J-Lynn Van Pelt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful, whimsical story of a girl who sees her desert world in bright colors. The illustrations make the story come alive with vibrant, fantastical imagination. The little girl in the book gets to float among the heavens, dance with the birds, swing high into the air, and all in time to greet daddy when he gets home from work.

This is a bilingual, English/Spanish book that is beautiful in any language.

[Melissa Pope87]

I got the idea to read this book from Dalene Thomas. The summary she gave is what caught my interest. I feel that it is important to have different types of cultural books in the classroom. This book sounds interesting and I will read it.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me encanta y a mi hija le encanta también.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Colors, My World depicts Gonzalez’s childhood in the California desert. She uses a bright color palette to illustrate Maya’s interaction with the colorful world around her. The predominant color throughout the book is pink, which is depicted in varying shades from light pink similar to cotton candy to a rich magenta. Her readers are introduced to the lovely round faced, brown skinned girl that Gonzalez could not find in books as a child. In this book, Maya is reminiscent of a young Frida Kahlo self-portrait. Kahlo’s influence is visible in Gonzalez’s works. Both artists are influence by Mexican folk art and ancient artifacts. Gonzalez also incorporates magical realism throughout the book as Maya is transported by the beautiful colors that surround her and floats through her colorful world. Finally, the bilingual text is easy to read and the color words are depicted in the color they represent. In addition, a short color glossary is included at the back of the book. My students love this book!

[L13_melissa_prokop · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book describes the way in which the little girl applies color to her life. Her favorite color is pink. I love how the absence of bright colors takes place when she refers to living in the desert. I love how she describes the sun setting as being "pink." One of my students disagreed with her and stated, "no, the sun setting is orange." This helped me as a teacher, understand that the protaginist in the story is telling us how her favorite color pink shows up in her life. I love the picture at the end when her father comes home and she hugs him. I love how she describes his black hair.

This book is shorter and does not take a lot of time and is quite simple in nature. I think the idea of "character's perspective" could be taught using this book. I also think for younger students, colors can be taught. This book is also bilingual.

[Pretend City Children's Museum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, beautiful colors are all around us but sometimes they can be hard to see. Take a trip to the Mojave Desert as we visit Maya to search extra hard for the colors in her neighborhood. What will we find on our journey with her; vibrant purples of her Mama’s flowers, juicy greens of a prickly cactus, hot pink clouds at sunset?

By 24 months, most children are able to sort items by their color, but learning colors comes first! You can practice every day by talking about all the colors you see in your world. The sky is blue, clouds are white and grass is green. Keep practicing!

This was such a great book to get the children exited about the colors that they see around them, along with learning about a new culture and language!

[Kathleen Behrendt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this bilingual picture book! The vibrant colors are gorgeous. When Maya introduces each new color, the word in the text is in the color Maya is describing. She introduces the reader to life in a southwestern desert with enthusiasm through these colors. The pictures - especially of Maya - are reminiscent of the work of Frida Kahlo. The bilingual color glossary in the back of the book is a nice addition. Also, in the back of the book, the reader finds out that Maya is based on the author - Maya Christina Gonzalez.

I would recommend this book to a parent or teacher looking for Hispanic multicultual material, as well as to children in first grade and up. This book won a Pura Belpre Honor Award. This would make a nice addition to a display or a booktalk for Hispanic American Month.

[Becca Peffley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very good. It is about a young Latino child and her family. The illustrations are absolutely AMAZING! The little girl talks about where she lives, describing all of the pretty colors, and where she sees them on an every day basis in her town. Very creative way to incorporate spanish. One one page the girl explains colors in certain places, and then on the next page it says the same thing in spanish. It uses easy and short text on purpose, so that the spanish can be identified and even learned! This book won the Pura Belpre Illustrator Honor Award, and was voted one of best childrens books in 2007 in Critica's Magazine.

[Katherine Fountain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled across My Colors, My World/Mis Colores, Mi Mundo in a 2nd grade classroom library and was immediately intrigued with the fun, colorful pictures. The main character is in the desert, and after a windstorm, her entire surroundings are a dull, beige color. Wanting to make the environment more colorful and appealing, she begins to "paint" the desert. With text in English and Spanish, this book would be perfect for a young English Language Learner or even a child wanting to learn their colors in Spanish. The bilingual glossary at the end of the book does a great job of defining any possible confusing words throughout the text.

[Angelica · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Colors, My World is a bilingual book centered around how the author, as a child saw the colors of the Mojave desert. With all the beautiful colors represented in reds, pinks, oranges etc. These were the colors of her world as a child. Such a vivid imagination as a child this was the desert she loved and how she saw it. The pictures are exceptionally beautiful and if you need to spruce up your spanish especially colors there is a glossary in the back. A great book to start off learning spanish.

[Brandie Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved the artwork in this book. The child shows us the flowers in her garden: “Orange marigolds look like the sun./ Caléndulas anaranjadas paracen como el sol.” The words “orange” and “anaranjadas” appear in orange lettering to help youngsters make the association between the words and the color. The girl points out the green cactus/el cacto verde, and sways on her “red swing/columpio rojo,” surrounded by the love of her mother and father. The book ends as night falls: “¡Buenas noches!” I felt the Spanish and English in this text made the story excellent!

[Sadie Devin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because it intertwines english and spanish. This would be a great book to use for bilingual students and english language learners. What I love about this book is that the English version of the story is written on one page and the Spanish version is on the page next to it. This book focuses on colors, so in bold on every page are the colors in both English and Spanish which are very helpful to the reader to be able to compare the colors in the different languages. This is an interactive book with illustrations to fit the text.

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

diverse picture book (bilingual English/Spanish, Pura Belpre Honor, colors / preschool ages 3-6)
* Book prominently features diverse characters: the main character is a young Latina girl living in a desert/arid climate (modeled after the author/illustrator Maya Gonzalez who grew up in the Mojave desert area).
* Book would work well for a preschool storytime. Vibrant story and illustrations, and identifiable colors make this a great choice for ages 3 and up (or younger kids if reading one-on-one).
* Book works well with the "colors" theme.

[Katie Scherrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book, especially the illustrations. This book works really well in storytime with a bilingual group. Because there is so much pink, I was a little worried when I first used it that the boys in my group may not get into it, but that concern was completely unfounded. Everyone loved it and wanted to talk about the colors in their world too! Plus, I have to be a total nerd and say that Maya Christina Gonzalez looks super cool; I can't wait for her to write more books!

[Crista Goluch · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in the Mojave Desert, this beautiful story takes us into the creative and playful mind of a child.

This would be a great book when teaching younger children about colors and use of color, teaching younger students to read the color words. The blend of fantasy and real world would be a great starting point for creative writing.

This book is a great addition to your multicultural shelves because it is simple to read in English or Spanish and the illustrations are just amazing.

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way the author relates colors to a situation as opposed to just an object. It would be fun to have students write their own book about how colors are personal to them, and can express their own cultures. Many students in our school are from an Indian culture and they never get to see themselves in books. I think this would be a great book to start a conversation about the lack of books they have.

[Christa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maya, who lives in the dusty desert, opens her eyes wide to find the colors in her world, from Papi's black hair to Maya's red swing set and the fiery pink sunset. This is an excellent book that introduces children to a different language with very bold and colorful illustrations. Includes a helpful quiz at the end. Really nice book. The character narration which effectively conveys and appropriate educational messages to readers.

[Julia Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This beautiful book, with side by side English and Spanish text, tells the tale of young Maya. She lives in the desert, where the blowing sand often hides color. Because of this, she makes a point to quest for colors in her own life.

This would make a fun read aloud for young students learning their colors, a bilingual group, or just a one-on-one read with one person handling the English and one handling the Spanish. (The overall story is the same in both languages)

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maya longs to find the colors of the world, but when the wind blows hard, her world in the desert turns into the many colors of brown. Maya goes looking, ad finds her favorite pink in the desert sunset, purple in the irises, green in the cactus. Happy is Maya, wearing pink and finding colors in her every day search. Maya Gonzalez’ illustrations are the bold and wild pictures of Mexican muralists, whimsical and exaggerated and beautiful.

[Hannah Holthaus · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a little girl with Latino heritage discovering her world all around her. In this book, there is both English and Spanish text. On one page, the story will be in English and on the next page to the right, it will be the same story but in Spanish. She loves the color pink. This would be a great story to teach students their colors and also some Spanish language. I thought that this book would talk more about the Latino culture, but it was more about colors.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The artwork in this book reminded me of Frida Kahlo for some reason. A little girl who lives in the dusty brown desert tries to find colors there. The book is certainly colorful, and I loved the added touch of the rabbit in the moon, a traditional hispanic folk element, in the last 2-page spread. This would make a nice addition to a unit on desert life.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gonzalez's book combines stunning illustrations and text to introduce a bilingual world of colors. The colors and illustrations are truly breathtaking, and remind me of Diego Rivera's murals. The author also captures the culture of Mexico in this lovely children's picture book.

Realistic Fiction; 2007; ALA Notable Books for Children, Pura Belpre Honor

[Dena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everything in Maya's desert home seems to all be the same sand color. Maya searches for the colors in her world and finds them - hotpink sunset, verde cactus, etc.. This story is told in both english and spanish. I love the illustrations and the contrast from the opening colorless pages to Maya's color filled world at the end!