Abecedarios/ Alphabets: Mexican Folk Art, Abcs in Spanish and English

A bilingual ABC book featuring beautiful, vibrant photographs of hand-carved animals from Oaxaca, Mexico.

This beautifully-illustrated, bilingual ABC book is fun for young readers and the adults reading with them. Each letter is illustrated with a photograph of a hand-carved animal in the folk tradition of Oaxaca, Mexico. The wood sculptures are carved in beautiful detail and painted eye-catching bright colors that little readers will love. Weill's choice of animals is delightfully quirky (you'll never guess what she chose for 'X') and provides a great opportunity to practice different letter sounds in Spanish and English, as each animal is named in both languages. Unlike other alphabet books, this board book includes several letters that are specific to Spanish, such as the and ll. Whether you're already a bilingual family or hoping to become one, this book is a great place to start.

Brothers and master carvers Armando and Mois s Jim nez created the animals for the illustrations, which are then sanded by their children and hand painted by their wives, Anton a and Oral a. They are following in a family tradition of wood carving that goes back to their grandfather, Manuel, who began carving animals in the 1950's using wood from the copal trees that grow nearby. The carvings have proved so popular that eighty families in their town of Arrazola, Oaxaca now make their living from carving wooden sculptures.

ABeCedarios is a sturdy board book, just the right size for little hands, and durable enough to withstand many re-readings. Little ones will love the adorable animals and bright colors. This is the perfect book for laying the foundations of bilingual literacy for your child, and makes a great gift for new parents, toddlers, and appreciators of Mexican folk art

Cynthia Weill is a professor and mentor to teachers at Columbia University’s Teachers College. She also owns a business--Aid to Women Artisans--that promotes the craftwork of artisans from developing countries. ABeCeDario is her second book. K.B. Basseches is an artist and an art educator. She taught Art Education at Virginia Commonwealth University until the birth of her son. She is now a full-time mother and fine artist. In 2005, she developed and curated a touring exhibition of adult, university and child artists’ works to benefit the child victims of Hurricane Katrina.