Quizás algo hermoso

by F. Isabel Campoy, Theresa Howell, Rafael López (Illustrator)

Winner of the 2017 Tomás Rivera Book Award

A lyrical Spanish edition of the acclaimed and inspiring picture book Maybe Something Beautiful, illustrated by Pura Belpré Medal winner Rafael López.

What good can a splash of color do in a community of gray? As Mira and her neighbors discover, more than you might ever imagine! Based on the true story of the Urban Art Trail in San Diego, California, Maybe Something Beautiful reveals how art can inspire transformation—and how even the smallest artists can accomplish something big. Pick up a paintbrush and join the celebration!

¿De qué sirve un toque de color en una comunidad de gris? ¡Como descubren Mira y sus vecinos, más de lo que puedas imaginar! Basado en la historia real del Urban Art Trail en San Diego, California, Maybe Something Beautiful revela cómo el arte puede inspirar la transformación, y cómo incluso los artistas más pequeños pueden lograr algo grande. ¡Toma un pincel y únete a la celebración!
 

Genres: Picture Books, Art, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Cultural, Nonfiction, Storytime

40 pages, Hardcover

First published April 12, 2016

About the author

F. ISABEL CAMPOY is the author of numerous children’s books in the areas of poetry, theatre, stories, biographies, and art. As a researcher she has published extensively bringing to the curriculum an awareness of the richness of the Hispanic culture. She is an educator specialized in the area of literacy and home school interaction, topics on which she lecturers nationally. An internationally recognized scholar devoted to the study of language acquisition, a field in which she started publishing in l973 after obtaining her degree in English Philology from Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain; and post graduate work in Reading University in England, and UCLA in the United States.

Her many accolades include ALA Notables, the San Francisco Library Award, the Reading the World Award from the University of San Francisco, the NABE Ramón Santiago Award, the International Latino Children’s Book Award, and nine Junior Library Guild selections. She is a member of the North American Academy of Spanish Language.

Reviews

[Darla · Rating 5 out of 5]

The East Village in San Diego was not always vibrant and colorful. It was once dull and gray. Then Rafael and Candice López put together a plan to bring the community back to life using art. This book tells the story of the birth of Urban Art Trail. Rafael López is the illustrator. Photos of the actual art are included in the back of the book along with more details. You can also go to this site: http://maybesomethingbeautiful.com/po... for more information. This picture book is an inspiration to add more color into our lives.

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Each year I and my family read and rate all the Goodreads picture book nominees. This one is nominated for 2016. I make a few comments and then add their separate ratings and a comment from each of them. There's 20 (15 first round and 5 new ones for the semi-final round) and this is the seventeenth being rated. My rating might be somewhat influenced by the family, naturally.

Dave: 4 stars. Inspirational story based in part on the actual transformation of an East Village neighborhood in San Diego, with a muralist who also does the illustration for this book. It tells the story of Mira, ho thinks her neighborhood is gray and dark, and she adds color tot it, with this muralist and others.

Tara (my wife): 5 stars. Loved it! Inspiring.
Harry (11): 4 stars. I liked when the policeman stopped and said "excuse me?" and just when you thought he was going to ask them to stop doing it, he joined in.
Hank (10): 4 stars. I liked how they used their imaginations.
Lyra (9): 4 1/2 stars. Beautiful colors when and after they painted.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on the true story of the colorful transformation of the East Village neighborhood in San Diego, California, this picture book shows how art can impact quality of life. Mira is a little girl who loves to create art. She lives in a gray city where she tries to share her art and change things, but her art is too little to make big changes. Then she meets a man who is creating huge murals and who allows Mira to help him. Soon other neighbors are helping and colors begin to fill the streets, creating a close-knit neighborhood.

There is a sense of joy and hope throughout this picture book, led by little Mira, a girl with the heart of an artist from the very start of the book. Just sharing her art with her neighbors is an act of artistic courage that sets the tone for the rest of the story. The text is accented by “Bams!” and “Pows” that add to the dynamic tone. Everything here is filled with creative energy and a cheery tone.

López’s art shows the gray concrete city and then imposes Mira and her own colorful attitude against it. The paint splashes on the page and also creates vibrant rainbows of swirling colors that dance on the page. The diverse neighborhood is captured with a richness that is captivating. As color fills the page, it fills the neighborhood too.

A brilliant testament to the power of art and the way it can transform a life and a neighborhood. Appropriate for ages 4-7.

[Mid-Continent Public Library]

The East Village in San Diego was not always vibrant and colorful. It was once dull and gray. Then Rafael and Candice López put together a plan to bring the community back to life using art. This book tells the story of the birth of Urban Art Trail. Rafael López is the illustrator. Photos of the actual art are included in the back of the book along with more details. You can also go to this site: http://maybesomethingbeautiful.com/ for more information. This picture book is an inspiration to add more color into our lives. *Reviewed by Darla from Red Bridge*

[Joyce Yattoni · Rating 5 out of 5]

#bookaday So many possibilities with this book. A great stepping off point for a community service project.

[Christiane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on a true story of the transformation of the East Village near downtown San Diego. Illustrator Rafael López created the original murals, along with members of the community. The book’s illustrations are vibrant and beautiful, filled with possibility and hope. The text is simple enough this book could be shared for preschool story time, or in a K – 1st grade class. Maybe it will inspire kids to try this in their own neighborhoods!

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

A young girl named Mira, who takes pleasure in creating beautiful, vibrantly colorful works of art, and giving them to her neighbors, tapes one of her paintings on a neighborhood wall one day, and the results are magical. A muralist appears the next day, and using her painting as a starting point, creates a gorgeous mural that transforms the gray neighborhood, and involves everybody in the project. From one small idea, maybe something beautiful will arise...

Inspired by the true story of Rafael López, an artist and muralist who, together with his wife Candice, transformed San Diego's East Village with his Urban Art Trail project, Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood pairs an engaging, heartwarming story with absolutely gorgeous illustrations. López is, in fact, not only the inspiration for co-authors F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell's story, he is the illustrator as well, and if his artwork here is anything to judge by, then his murals must be truly beautiful. I appreciated the messages here, both about the power of art to lift up a community, and get people involved in a common project, and about welcoming everyone as a possible positive contributor. I was particularly struck by the latter, and by the fact that the police officer here is depicted in a positive light, as a member of the community. Given that the police have not always been viewed so positively of late, I thought that was an especially welcome element of the story. Recommended to all young artists, and to anyone looking for children's stories about art and its role in the wider community.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story stars young Mira, a girl who can't stop seeing beauty even though her neighborhood is grey. She draws and paints constantly and shares her art with others. When she meets up with a muralist, the two of them bring something beautiful to the neighborhood and chase away the grey. The book includes a section in the back that tells the true story of Rafael and Candice Lopez, who used murals to transform the East Village neighborhood of San Francisco into something bright and engaging.

My daughter, who is two, ADORED this book. It's a good thing I have already covered the hallway wall with butcher paper, or I'd be dealing with quite the mural, I'm sure...

Notes on representation: Mira appears to be Latinx, and the neighborhood is made up of people of all skin colors.

[Beth P · Rating 5 out of 5]

The endpapers and title page art grabbed me immediately, but the beautiful words and illustrations continued to pull me in. I love that Mira views herself as an artist. I love that at one point in the story, music begins playing in my head, and with a single page turn, it abruptly stops. I love that back matter is included to explain the story behind the book. I love that by reading this book I want to hop on a plane to admire the The Urban Art Trail. This will definitely be a book that encourages re-reading and nonfiction exploration.

[Jacqui · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You, my friends,are all artists, he told them. "The world is your canvas."

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, colourful book about the importance of art, and music, and community, and dancing, and kindness.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

#5 in 365 Kids Books challenge and bid to get back on the Top 100 Readers list for full explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia

Gorgeous.I wasn't previously aware of Lopez' work, so I am doubly delighted: this isn't the only book he's illustrated. So yay, more books for the list. Telling the story through a focus on Mira makes it engaging for a young audience and keeps the story simple and metaphorical. And there's back matter giving the real story.

The only thing I could ask for is more on the community organizing aspect of the street art. Because who could read this and not want to start a similar project?

Library copy

[La Coccinelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting picture book based on the true story of the Urban Art Trail in San Diego.

While I appreciate the story and the illustrations (they're vibrant and highly appealing), I'm a bit disappointed in the way this book doesn't address the legality of painting public spaces. Readers might be left with the impression that you can just go around painting walls, utility boxes, and benches wherever you like (when, in many places, you'd need permits... lest you be charged with vandalism). The result may be beautiful, but is it legal?

That said, if parents are willing to sit down and explain these things (and read the authors' note with their kids), this could be a good introduction to urban art. The illustrations are colourful and highlight the contrast between a world with art versus one without.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

With each season of the year, even in those months when the outside world is sleeping, nature sends us color. It may only be a flash of rich red from a swooping cardinal or vivid blue from a chattering jay, but its vibrancy is a message. It's a reminder of associating color with the excitement of being fully alive.

Not only does Mother Nature send us little pieces of color when there is nearly none but the burst of hues from one season to the next or from a dry spell ended with a rain storm seems to happen in hours rather than days. Sometimes people take their lessons from the natural world. They make loveliness bloom where there was none. Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed A Neighborhood (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 12, 2016) written by F. Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell with illustrations by Rafael Lopez is inspired by a true story of people who did that very thing.


My full recommendation: http://librariansquest.blogspot.com/2...

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illustrated by the muralist whose work inspired the book, Maybe Something Beautiful is about the Urban Art Trail in San Diego and the vision of the community there to transform their drab, grey cityscape into something beautiful and meaningful. From calligraphy poems on the sidewalk to murals that "lit up like sunshine," the project involved everyone - from police officers to schoolteachers to children - and is a testimony to the power of art, imagination, creativity, and what people can do when they work together for a common goal and a common good. I love what the muralist told them when they finished: "You, my friends, are all artists. The world is your canvas." Such a beautiful and inspirational picture book.

[Danielle]

A wonderful project—the book and the mural project in San Diego that inspired it!

[Nicola · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful picture book about how art, colour, and imagination can revitalise a neighbourhood and bring a community together. Miss 3 and I have read a few picture books with that kind of theme; what sets this one apart is that it is based on a true story. I appreciated the text of the Afterword and Miss 3 liked the photos.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A touching and hopeful story about how small actions can make a big difference and how about the ways a community can come together through art. The fact that the book is based on true story made it that much better.

[Dna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful story about color and community!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Colorful Picture Book

A colorful story about a young girl living in a bleak urban community. She and an artist befriend each other and begin creating murals on walls, circuit boxes and anywhere they can brighten up their homes.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tells the story of Mira, a little girl who lived “in the heart of a gray city,” but who loved to draw and fill her room with color. She decided to pass her pictures around to share the joy she got from brightly colored art.

One day she encountered an artist and he helped her paint bright colors on a wall, making it light up like sunshine. Other people soon joined in, drawing pictures on the bricks, adding “color, punch, and pizzazz!” As more and more people participated, “Color spread throughout the streets. So did joy.”

Mira and the artist went all around the city, painting bright colors, decorating “with poetry and shine.” The artist told the people, “You my friends, are all artists. The world is your canvas.”

As we learn in the Authors’ Note at the end of the book, a true story inspired this book. In fact, it is the story of the award-winning illustrator, Rafael López. He and his wife Candice helped form the “Urban Art Trail,” seeking volunteers of all ages, races, and walks of life to revive their community through art. The group transformed their neighborhood in San Diego’s East Village into a place of beauty. The movement spread as far away as Canada and Australia.

The joyous and colorful acrylic illustrations in this book by Rafael López himself have an emphasis on primary shapes and colors. The pictures often take up the whole double-page spread, using fluid shapes and movements to cross the seam between pages.

At a website based on the book, you can learn more about the Urban Art Trail and about murals used for beautification around the world. The site even includes a montage of pictures showing murals in many cities, including San Diego.

Evaluation: I found the “real” story more interesting than the fictional one. I also thought it was not made clear that random painting on walls is not always legal. But the illustrations are vibrant and interesting, and perhaps will inspire readers to learn more about how they, too, can make a difference in their communities.

Rating: 3.5/5

[Natalie Mayur · Rating 5 out of 5]

This realistic fiction children’s book is a great option for lower elementary students (kindergarten through second grade). Within the story, you meet Mira, who lives in a gloomy city and enjoys painting colorful pictures for her neighbors. One day, a muralist invites her to paint on the walls of the neighborhood to help “brighten things up”. Pretty soon, various neighbors of different backgrounds and ages are all chipping in and having a blast while making their community beautiful by painting, singing, dancing, planting plants, but most importantly they are working together in unison towards a common goal: to make their community a beautiful place.

I think one of the reasons this is a WOW book for me is because there are so many different things you could do with this book in your classroom. When I read this book aloud to my kindergarten class, every single student was captivated by the engaging illustrations; they absolutely loved this book! I chose to read this book without asking any questions or other interruptions so that my students could fully enjoy and comprehend the story for themselves. The next day we reread the story, and we discussed vocabulary found within the text such as “transformed”, “muralist”, and “pizzazz”. I also shared with my students that this was a realistic fiction book, meaning this type of activity truly took place in a neighborhood. I also showed students various murals in Raleigh and Durham to familiarize themselves with murals in the their own community. We had been studying communities and community helpers, and so this was a great connection to our unit.

Maybe Something Beautiful is also a great story to introduce a fun art project or to discuss culture and what this complex idea means. Conversations could also easily form from reading the pictures alone, so taking a picture walk before reading the text would also be a neat idea when reading this to young students.

[Allie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I already liked Rafael López' illustration work, but I had no idea he was a muralist as well! This would be a really fun book to read for a community art program like they did at the King branch a few years ago for MLK day. I can see an organization like Artists Working in Education incorporating this book into their workshops too.

I think it's really important that the main character is a kid. We definitely need more books that tell kids that they can influence and change their communities in myriad ways. It's that kind of empowering message that will get kids involved and engaged in their world.

[Susie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea how many books are now in Hoopla; I searched in my public library, and a narrated version was available. Not only did this have narration, but music as well. It really did make the book seem more like an event. I don't know that this version had as much of the back matter, but I was very interested to hear that this was based on a true story, and that the muralist is the illustrator.

[Tricia Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is based on a true story. An area near downtown San Diego, CA was plain and gray. One day Rafael and Candice Lopez had the idea to bring people together to decorate the area. Rafael has done the illustrations for the story and they are wonderful! This would be a great book to have in schools and libraries. "All of us are artists and the world is our canvas."

[Lesley Burnap · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Wherever Mira and the man went, art followed like the string of a kite." Heart-warming story loosely based on true events in a San Diego neighborhood. Beautifully illustrated by the "inspiration for the character of the muralist."

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting more from this book. The real life description at the end of the book is way more impressive than the picture book itself. It is a nice idea but vague and not very dynamic as a children's book.

[Annalise Kraines · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, fine, every book I read this week made me cry. This was so very sweet, the story of a community coming together to make the world brighter. This is based on a true story and the illustrator is the real life muralist the book is based on!

[Sue Mosher · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful true story about a community art project in San Diego. Wonderful!

[Bethe · Rating 4 out of 5]

bookaday #53. outstanding art work - by the muralist the book is loosely based upon - urban art trail movement started in San Diego. Wish it was available in Spanish.