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First Concepts in Mexican Folk Art #1
ABeCedarios: Mexican Folk Art ABCs in English and Spanish
Every ABC book worth its cover price is bound to have bright colors and big letters. But not every ABC book has magical hand-carved animals to illustrate every letter. And very few alphabet books present those letters in more varieties than English! Very few alphabet books except the ABeCedarios, that is! In this brightly colored book, the alphabet is presented in both Spanish and English, and includes the four additional letters—and whimsical animals—that make the Spanish alphabet so much fun.
The famous folk artists, brothers Moisés and Armando Jiménez, carved the wonderful animal figures that illustrate each letter in ABeCedarios. Working with their wives and children in the beautiful village of Arrazola in Oaxaca, Mexico, they carved and painted each enchanting animal by hand. For many centuries, people in Oaxaca have carved wood to make toys and household objects. However, it was Moisés and Armando’s grandfather Manuel who started making animal figures. Now more than sixty families in Arrazola make their living from wood carving.
Cynthia Weill works at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. She is the co-author with Pegi Deitz Shea of Ten Mice for Tet (Chronicle Books, 2003), a book inspired by the Vietnamese embroidery she saw while working in international relief in Hanoi, Vietnam. She is trained as an art historian and studies the process of folk artisans around the world.
K. B. Basseches is an artist, photographer, and art educator. She was an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Department of Art Education, and served as a staff photographer at the Smithsonian Institution in the Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. Basseches has exhibited throughout the mid-Atlantic region and in the Los Angeles area. She lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her young son and husband.
The famous folk artists, brothers Moisés and Armando Jiménez, carved the wonderful animal figures that illustrate each letter in ABeCedarios. Working with their wives and children in the beautiful village of Arrazola in Oaxaca, Mexico, they carved and painted each enchanting animal by hand. For many centuries, people in Oaxaca have carved wood to make toys and household objects. However, it was Moisés and Armando’s grandfather Manuel who started making animal figures. Now more than sixty families in Arrazola make their living from wood carving.
Cynthia Weill works at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. She is the co-author with Pegi Deitz Shea of Ten Mice for Tet (Chronicle Books, 2003), a book inspired by the Vietnamese embroidery she saw while working in international relief in Hanoi, Vietnam. She is trained as an art historian and studies the process of folk artisans around the world.
K. B. Basseches is an artist, photographer, and art educator. She was an assistant professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Department of Art Education, and served as a staff photographer at the Smithsonian Institution in the Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. Basseches has exhibited throughout the mid-Atlantic region and in the Los Angeles area. She lives in Richmond, Virginia, with her young son and husband.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2007
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
May 21, 2010
My wife got this book to use in her elementary school Spanish classes. She gets a lot of books for this purpose and I have seen my fair share of boring ones. This one is actually a really cool little bilingual alphabet book and the pictures are pretty awesome. Each letter features a different Mexican folk art animal carving. Some of the animals I have never heard of before, but maybe most kids are smarter than me. Overall the book is very well-designed and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a Spanish alphabet book (keep in mind, however, that I do not speak or read Spanish, so I don't know how valuable my recommendation is).
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September 12, 2021The inside book jacket explains:
(Apparently Cynthia Weill now has a picturebook series: First Concepts in Mexican Folk Art.)
Anyway, the book is very simple: each page has an animal, with its name in both Spanish and English (which almost always start with the same letter, as the author mostly chose cognate names -- though there are some unusual names, like Nutria [though confusingly, Wiki tells me that In the Spanish language, the "nutria" refers to the otter], Wapiti, and Zedonk; also Quetzal and Vicuna, but those at least sounded familiar to me). X is solved by making up a creature and saying (in English and in Spanish), "This is an undiscovered animal. Can you give it a name starting with the letter X?"
I had just dug into the Spanish alphabet with Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book, so I was interested by how this book handled Spanish-specific letters/sounds:
The animals in ABeCedarios were handmade by the Jiménez family, who lives in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico. Brothers Armando and Moisés carved the creatures. Their children Alex, Nancy, and Eduardo sanded each one. Then the figures were lovingly painted by their wives, Antonía and Oralía. Armando and Moisés are the grandsons of Manuel Jiménez, founder of the Oaxacan woodcarving tradition. Eighty other families in their town of Arrazola also make woodcarvings.I'm glad for traditional Oaxacan crafts getting a wide audience (and things like alphabet books are a great way to normalize things for kids), though I wonder how these artists are/were compensated for their work. Do they get a portion of the royalties from the booksales?
When Cindy Weill first saw the beautiful animal woodcarvings of the Jiménez brothers, she knew they would make perfect illustrations for a bilingual alphabet book. She contacted her long-time friend K.B. Basseches and together they worked with the Jiménez family to develop each figure. Then K.B. photographed the woodcarvings for ABeCedarios.
(Apparently Cynthia Weill now has a picturebook series: First Concepts in Mexican Folk Art.)
Anyway, the book is very simple: each page has an animal, with its name in both Spanish and English (which almost always start with the same letter, as the author mostly chose cognate names -- though there are some unusual names, like Nutria [though confusingly, Wiki tells me that In the Spanish language, the "nutria" refers to the otter], Wapiti, and Zedonk; also Quetzal and Vicuna, but those at least sounded familiar to me). X is solved by making up a creature and saying (in English and in Spanish), "This is an undiscovered animal. Can you give it a name starting with the letter X?"
I had just dug into the Spanish alphabet with Calavera Abecedario: A Day of the Dead Alphabet Book, so I was interested by how this book handled Spanish-specific letters/sounds:
el Chapulín
Ch is no longer a letter in the Spanish alphabet, but the sound is still in use.
the grasshopper
la Llama
Ll is no longer a letter in the Spanish alphabet, but the sound is still in use.
the llama
el Ñu
Ñ is in the Spanish alphabet only.
the gnu
el zorro
Rr is not a letter in the Spanish alphabet, but the sound is commonly used.
the fox
December 12, 2017
This review was originally written for The Baby Bookworm. Visit us for new picture books reviews daily!
Hello, friends! Our book today is the wonderfully educational ABeCedarios: Mexican Folk Art ABCs, written by Cynthia Weill and K.B. Basseches and featuring Mexican folk art from Oaxaca by Moisés and Armando Jiménez.
On each vibrantly-colored page, little ones are introduced to a new letter; both English letters as well as letters and/or sounds (such as ñ or ch) that are native to the Spanish alphabet are featured. Accompanying each of these is a photograph of a beautifully carved and painted Mexican folk-art sculpture of an animal, and that animal’s name in both English and Spanish.
We loved this so much! We’ve been trying to include some dual-language books into JJ’s library, but this is the first that I’ve seen that really focuses on teaching children in two alphabets at once. The inclusion of Spanish-exclusive or -adapted letters and word sounds gives a wonderful foundation, and the use of the Mexican folk art adds a cultural component that gives the Spanish words and alphabet a sense of context, as well as providing some truly engaging visuals for little readers. This one had it right down to the details: for “X”, it includes a sculpture of an imaginary animal, and encourages children to make up their own animal that starts with x – a clever, fun page that allows children to interact with the subject in a new way. The length is fine, and JJ adored it, reading it through three more times after we were done. If you’re looking for a truly immersive dual-language primer for little ones, this is the one to pick! Baby Bookworm approved!
(Note: A copy of this book was provided to The Baby Bookworm by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)
Be sure to check out The Baby Bookworm for more reviews!
October 18, 2020
I liked the Mexican culture that was in this story. I also liked the animals that were chosen to be used in the story. I have never heard of these types of wood carving but it was very nice to learn about their type of work. It is very special that all the members of the family are able to contribute to their business. The colors that were used in the book are very nice and I am sure that they resemble colors used to color the wood carvings.
January 14, 2021
Illustrated with magical hand-carved animals this book introduces animal words in both English and Spanish. Each animal chosen starts with the same letter in both languages. When a letter doesn’t occur in both languages, it is given in the correct language with an explanation.
Tags: Folk art -- Mexico -- Oaxaca (State) -- Alphabet in art -- Alphabet books -- Spanish language -- Readers --
October 5, 2024
I liked this book, and I also really liked the art, style, and language variety in the Opuestos book by the same author. The folk art is really captivating. If those are all wood carvings, I think they should have been photographed to show that more clearly; they look like 3D renderings. I am impressed by all the English / Spanish same-first-letter animals. The zedonk makes me sad.
May 30, 2019
Mexican folk art, Wood sculptures, that depict an animal for each letter of the alphabet. Each letter has both an English and Spanish animal.
January 19, 2023
Lovely Oaxacan wood animal art inspired illustrations in this sweet and simple alphabet book.
January 24, 2024
A delightful book of art! Oaxacan woodcarvers made the animals which illustrate the alphabet words in English and Spanish. Recommended for all!
July 3, 2024
Features the complete English and Spanish alphabet, with a few new to me animals.
April 28, 2012
All the animals in this alphabet book begin with the same letter in English as they do in Spanish. All pictures are of beautifully painted wooden animals hand crafted by a family in the state of Oaxaca Mexico. I found this to be a wonderfully creative and artistic way of teaching the alphabet through animals using both languages.
April 5, 2015
ABeCedarios presents the beautiful wood sculptures typical of Oaxaca, Manuel Jiménez credited as the founder of this movement and his present-day ancestors who carry the torch featured at the end of the book. Great for any young reader interested in the ABC's, animals or art, esp. that of Mexican or Mexican-American culture.
August 22, 2016
Oaxaca, Mexico, is justly famous for its brightly painted wooden animal sculpture. In ABeCedarios, the authors showcase the creations of the Jimenez family, using the form of a bilingual Spanish/English alphabet book. A happy read; and the animal sculptures are a wonderful inspiration for creating your own art.
November 26, 2009
Oaxacan Sculpture examples
June 24, 2010
Loved the folk art in this little ABC book. However, would someone explain to me what a "Nutria" and a "Zedonk" are? Are they mythological?
May 18, 2011
Absolutely charming folk art depictions of the alphabet
July 11, 2016
Gorgeous photographed Mexican folk art is paired with both the English and Spanish alphabet (including sounds like "rr" and "ll"). It's smart and beautiful. Would recommend for toddlers.
January 19, 2016
Fun art
Concept: ABCs using art
Used in February
Concept: ABCs using art
Used in February
March 30, 2017
It’s impressive that the authors found so many words that start with the same letter in both languages.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews