What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

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Query abandoned by poster > ABANDONED. Children's/YA - Child in Mexico with a small dog

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message 1: by Peter (new)

Peter (bookish_peter) | 13 comments This is another very rare one, and unfortunately I don't remember much about it. I've tried to find it for decades; I'm hoping to find it before my son is too old to enjoy it.

It was a large book, illustrated - almost certainly in black and white, and probably by the author - about the adventures of a young Mexican boy in Mexico. I remember that he had a small dog who played a large role in the book. I don't think it was a picture book, though; more like a cross between a picture book and a chapter book. I'm pretty sure that the copy I read was oversized.

Someone, probably the boy or the dog, might have been named "Pedro". And I have a vague memory that the boy's father played a role in the book too.

The story itself was not particularly action-oriented, if memory serves; more than anything else it was the story of some days in the life of a young boy (aged 6-10?) in Mexico.

In my search I found another book which had many of the same elements, but I'm sure that was not the right book.

I read it when I was very young (call it the late 1960s), and I'm reasonably sure that the book wasn't brand new. I think it was a library book. So it could have been written any time from the 1940s to the early 1960s (or possibly earlier). But my gut feeling is that it was probably written in the 1950s.

Can anyone help?


message 2: by Kate (new)

Kate (katiebobus) | 202 comments This sounds familiar to me, only I feel like it was the name "Pablo"??? You might check this list of Jean Charlot's illustrated works:

http://128.171.57.100/libdept/charlot...

I'm envisioning line drawings, and maybe the boy wore a sombrero?


message 3: by Peter (new)

Peter (bookish_peter) | 13 comments Kate wrote: "This sounds familiar to me, only I feel like it was the name "Pablo"??? You might check this list of Jean Charlot's illustrated works:

http://128.171.57.100/libdept/charlot......"


Sombreros were DEFINITELY in the book - I'd forgotten about that! And it's certainly possible that the name was Pablo. I think you've put me on the right trail! Thanks - I'll post here once I've found out for sure.


message 4: by Nancy (new)

Nancy | 67 comments I think it might be Pedro by Marjorie Flack -- I'm going right now to take a look at it.


message 5: by Nancy (new)

Nancy | 67 comments Nancy wrote: "I think it might be Pedro by Marjorie Flack -- I'm going right now to take a look at it."

Nope--I was wrong...


message 6: by Nancy (new)

Nancy | 67 comments Okay--another idea: Watchdog by Laura Bannon, Albert Whitman, 1948. "Picture Book Hardback. Many glowing pictures of a traditional Mexican village on 16 de septiembre illustrate this story of Alberto and his dog." "Alberto wants the little terrier puppy (looks like a wire hair fox terrier) more than anything, but his family is poor and cannot afford to buy it. Wonderful things happen at the Fiesta, however, and it is there that Alberto discovers how to buy the little dog he has already named Homer." "A story about a celebration, a boy and a little sister, a big bird and a tiny dog. Alberto wants the small dog he finds in the pet store.."


message 7: by Kate (new)

Kate (katiebobus) | 202 comments It turns out I was thinking of Gilberto and the Wind...


message 8: by Peter (new)

Peter (bookish_peter) | 13 comments Kate wrote: "It turns out I was thinking of Gilberto and the Wind..."

By Marie Hall Ets? She's one of my favorite authors for children, but that's not the book.


message 9: by M (new)

M | 69 comments Is it one of Tomie dePaola's books?


Lol...Naruto Rocks! (Katelyn, Haku.) Faith and the Electric dogs?


message 12: by Peter (new)

Peter (bookish_peter) | 13 comments Katelyn wrote: "http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59..."

I'm afraid not, but thanks for trying. This was a rather old book; probably early 1950s at the very latest. And there wasn't any fantasy element. The dog couldn't talk or really understand language (beyond the extend that real dogs do, that is).


message 13: by Krista the Krazy Kataloguer (last edited Jul 11, 2009 09:57PM) (new)

Krista the Krazy Kataloguer (kristathekrazykataloguer) | 104 comments Could it be Leo Politi's The Nicest Gift? Politi's characters are often Mexican Americans in Los Angeles. It was written in 1973 and here's the plot: A little boy living in a Los Angeles barrio is desolate when Christmas Day arrives and his lost dog still hasn't been found. http://www.goodreads.com/search/searc...


message 14: by Peter (new)

Peter (bookish_peter) | 13 comments Krista the Krazy Kataloguer wrote: "Could it be Leo Politi's The Nicest Gift? Politi's characters are often Mexican Americans in Los Angeles. It was written in 1973 and here's the plot: A little boy living in a Los Angeles barrio i..."

No, I'm afraid not - this book was definitely set in Mexico, not America. And I'm pretty sure it must have been written sometime between 1950 and 1965.


message 15: by Peter (new)

Peter (bookish_peter) | 13 comments Krista the Krazy Kataloguer wrote: "Could it be Leo Politi's The Nicest Gift? Politi's characters are often Mexican Americans in Los Angeles. It was written in 1973 and here's the plot: A little boy living in a Los Angeles barrio i..."

No, I'm afraid not - this book was definitely set in Mexico, not America. And I'm pretty sure it must have been written sometime between 1950 and 1965.


message 16: by Peter (new)

Peter (bookish_peter) | 13 comments Peter wrote: "Krista the Krazy Kataloguer wrote: "Could it be Leo Politi's The Nicest Gift? Politi's characters are often Mexican Americans in Los Angeles. It was written in 1973 and here's the plot: A little ..."

No, I'm afraid not - this book was definitely set in Mexico, not America. And I'm pretty sure that it must have been written between 1950 and 1965. But thank you for trying!


message 17: by April Ann (last edited Jul 12, 2009 09:34AM) (new)

April Ann (bloomer) | 515 comments


Amigo , 1963

Author:Illustrated by Garth Williams

Summary:A Mexican boy makes a prairie dog into a pet.

Publication Information:Macmillan 1963. 41p.

Other Contributors:Williams, Garth, 1912-1996, illus

Notes:Some copies issued under Scholastic imprint.

Reading Level:Younger Kids

ISBN:Fiction/Nonfiction:FictionAuthor

Information:All books by: Schweitzer, Byrd


message 18: by Lobstergirl, au gratin (new)

Lobstergirl | 44962 comments Mod
Peter, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

Was it April Ann's suggestion of Amigo?


message 19: by Rainbowheart (new)

Rainbowheart | 29107 comments Did it have illustrations or actual photographs?


message 20: by Lobstergirl, au gratin (new)

Lobstergirl | 44962 comments Mod
Lobstergirl wrote: "Peter, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

Was it April Ann's suggestion of Amigo?"


No response in 2 years. Moving to Abandoned.


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