¡Tocamos!: Mexican Folk Art Music Makers in English and Spanish (First Concepts in Mexican Folk Art)

by Cynthia Weill, Avelino P�rez (illustrator)

Young readers will delight in learning about a wide variety of musical instruments in English and Spanish through beautifully handcrafted sculptures from Oaxaca, Mexico.

Los lectores jóvenes se deleitarán aprendiendo sobre una amplia variedad de instrumentos musicales en inglés y español a través de bellas esculturas hechas a mano en Oaxaca, México.

Musical feathered friends gather to form an ensemble! A rooster brings a double bass, a crow totes a trombone, and a macaw carries an accordion. They are almost all together but wait--someone is missing! Once the final member joins the group, the music begins!

Featuring vibrant wood carvings and rhythmic text that's fun to read aloud in both English and Spanish, ¡Tocamos! introduces children to many orchestral instruments played at concerts in Mexican town squares. Each bird was lovingly hand carved and painted by master woodcarver Avelino Pérez who lives in Oaxaca, Mexico. Both Cynthia and Avelino are delighted to teach children the names of instrumentos musicales in Spanish and English.

¡Amigos musicales emplumados se reúnen para formar un conjunto! Un gallo trae un contrabajo, un cuervo lleva un trombón y una guacamaya lleva un acordeón. Están casi todos juntos pero espera, falta alguien. Una vez que el último miembro se une al grupo, ¡comienza la música!

Con vibrantes tallas de madera y texto rítmico que es divertido leer en voz alta tanto en inglés como en español, ¡Tocamos! presenta a los niños muchos instrumentos orquestales que se tocan en conciertos en las plazas de las ciudades mexicanas. Cada pájaro fue cuidadosamente tallado y pintado a mano por el maestro tallador de madera Avelino Pérez, que vive en Oaxaca, México. Tanto Cynthia como Avelino están encantados de enseñar a los niños los nombres de instrumentos musicales en español e inglés.

Genres: Picture Books, Spanish Literature, Music

32 pages, Hardcover

Published February 25, 2025

Reviews

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful book! The folk art concept fits so well with the story! Many instruments are featured in this book in both Spanish/English. Easy to read and full of vibrant colors! This is a book I would recommend to parents who are trying to get their children to build a vocabulary in both English/Spanish.

[YSBR · Rating 5 out of 5]

This colorful read combines wooden carvings by a Mexican artist with language learning, music education, and vocabulary development. Each brightly designed page includes a picture of an animal playing an instrument accompanied by the instrument’s English translation with the next page presenting the Spanish translation. Readers can generally expect two to three words per page in this title. I loved that the book also includes a blurb at the end covering orchestral music in Mexico. It was a nice touch that felt digestible due to its short but engaging presentation. Because it includes bilingual text covering potentially unfamiliar vocabulary words with several instruments being more advanced than others, I would recommend this book be used as a read aloud. Adults may find that this title would best be utilized as part of a wider unit or topic of discussion incorporating multiple different skills. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meet the Band of Birds who are the Music Makers, but where is the Conductor?

Told through beautiful photographs by Otto Piron of exquisite hand-carved birds by Avelino Perez (who spent months on each bird), with text by Cynthia Weill who uses simple side-by-side sentences to introduce kids to music in English and Spanish, provides a great beginner's guide to music, culture and vocabulary.

This was really a very unique book experience and I look forward to reading more books from the Mexican Folk Art series.

[Kiera Beddes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A flock of feathered friends come together to make some beautiful music with a variety of instruments. Follow along as you learn a whole new musical vocabulary with some beautiful Mexican folk art.

I love the bright colors of the book, paired with the beautiful original wooden sculptures from the Mexican folk artist Avelino Pérez. The text is simple but effective. Overall, a very charming introduction to musical words in Spanish, and could be used as a little primer on Mexican culture.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely beautiful. It shares the meaning and history of the figures and music.