Mama Does the Mambo

by Katherine Leiner, Edel Rodriguez (Illustrator)

Following the death of her Papa, Sofia fears that her Mama will never find another dancing partner for Carnival.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Family, Music, Cultural

40 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2001

About the author

Katherine Leiner has been writing since she was a child. She has published many award-winning books for children and young adults and, more recently, her first novel for adults, Digging Out, published by Penguin. She is working on another novel due out in 2012. "

Reviews

[Madeline Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet story about a girl who loved when her mom and dad would dance. It is based on Spanish culture and certain kinds of dancing like the mambo, tango and the merengue. Her dad dies and her mom has no one to dance with anymore so she just stops altogether. She eventually finds a new man, but he cannot dance. She ends up asking her daughter to dance with her at the big festival and it makes her whole world.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the connection between the mom and her daughter and how much the little girl looked up to her. Her daughter cared about her so much and just wanted her to be happy and dance again. I also loved the illustrations and how they kind of went with the whole Spanish culture of the story.

I would use this in my classroom for older students or maybe to read it to the class for story time! It would be a fun story to share with the kids and teach them about other cultures and about finding yourself! 10/10 would recommend.

[Suzanne Koziol · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is beautifully written. Sofia loves to watch her parents dance. Together they are magic and a sight to see. When her Papa dies, her mother refuses to dance and it sadden Sofia twice as much. This book looks into how other cultures may grieve and even throws a little bit of Spanish in the text to really immerse you into Sofia's life. The descriptions are beautiful and paint a mental picture as well.

[NS Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sofia’s father died, and as a result her mother stopped dancing. This sadden her very much, for not only did she miss her father but also her mother’s dancing. With the annual Carnival, where her mother and father always performed, quickly approaching Sofia goes in search of the perfect dancing partner for her mother.

Leiner is able to stir a profound emotional response within the reader by dealing with an issue that most everyone can relate to, death. The sense of loss, sadness, and loneliness within the mother is apparent through her refusal to dance and can be felt by the reader. This book is diverse in that it deals with a Hispanic family struggling to cope with the loss of a loved one, and even adds a hint of the Spanish language to relate even more to the culture of the main characters. Leiner does a superb job of painting a visual image for the reader all throughout the book, like with the description of her mother’s appearance, “you could see her layers of gauze skirt and her ruffled blouse settled just off her smooth shoulders”. The figurative language used in this book was phenomenal. Leiner described the dancing by saying, “the two of them swaying like clothes on the line” and the father’s appearance by saying “Papa’s brilliantined hair was slicked shiny as a mallard’s feathered back”. There is no doubt this book deserved a one from the Horn Book Guide, and that is where I found this book.

[Christina Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sofia loved to watch the magic of her parents dancing. However, when Sofia’s father dies, Mama not only loses her dance partner but also stops dancing altogether. As Carnival season approaches, the neighbors urge Sofia to help Mama find a new dance partner. Although suitors come from all around to petition their cases, Mama’s heart doesn’t seem to be in it. Nonetheless, at Carnival, Mama demonstrates to all that she has not permanently lost the dance in her spirit and does the Mambo again. Rodriguez’s use of pastel, gouache, and spray paint with woodblock-ink linework beautifully complement and extend this tale of grief and healing. Employing a color palette centered around orange and red reflects the passion for music, dancing, and Papa that mother and daughter share. At the secondary level, Mama Does the Mambo could serve as an easily accessible exemplar of dynamic characterization and the characteristics of the hero cycle explained by Peter R. Stillman in Introduction to Myth.

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mama Does the Mambo tells the intimate story of a mother and daugther's struggle to recuperate after the most important man in their life passes. No longer does Mama want to dance the Mambo because she does not have her companion to share her love of this dance with any more. Initially, the premise of the story striked me as sad but it is also heartfelt and despite the fact that a new man comes into Mama's life, she is inspired to dance the Mambo again but not because of her new man but because of someone else more dear to her...

[Behind The Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the heartwarming tale of a girl named Sofia, who helps her mother to dance again. After her father dies, her mother stops dancing, and Sofia, along with the rest of her town, eagerly looks around for a new dancing partner for her mother.

The tale is well-written and beautifully illustrated. Leiner does an incredible job of depicting the depth of familial relationships and the true nature of love through the lives of Sofia and her mother.

[hhhhhhhhh · Rating 2 out of 5]

a child narrator would not describe her parents' bodies so sensually. just try reading this out loud without sounding like a cheap romance novel. the Spanish words the (apparently) Norteamericana author peppers the story with sound forced. the illustrations were lovely, however.

[Cortney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began to tear up as I read /Mama Does the Mambo/ to Vivienne. It's a really great story which takes place after a little girls father has died and how her mama doesn't dance anymore. It's very uplifting and I nice way to introduce love, death and resilience into the conversation with a toddler.

[Dani Kappel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was very text heavy. A young girl's father dies and her mother no longer dances when it happens. Her mother meets a new man and she eventually starts dancing again. This is good for narrative skill and word/letter knowledge. I'd recommend it for ages 3-5.