Summary: With minimal bilingual (Spanish/English) text set among colorful photographs of posed dolls and felt animals, this picture book story depicts famed Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo, her husband, artist Diego Rivera, a pet monkey, and a deer. Morales, Y. (2015). Viva Frida. New York, NY : Roaring Brook Press.
My impressions: Morales, as author and artistic designer, gives the reader vibrant, bold-colored images featuring gorgeous handmade dolls and other creations. Morales offers an immersive world for young readers. All of the text is sparse and bilingual, allowing the child to learn basic English and Spanish phrases about movement and sensory exploration, wisdom, kindness, friendship, and love. The book's scenes, photographed by Tim O'Meara, provide a very colorful and fanciful introduction to an acclaimed artist and the inspirations behind her art, mostly her portraits and self-portraits. Kahlo is presented as inquisitive and excited to learn new things, which makes the whole book feel like an inclusive story book, one that allows children to feel experiences rather than simply be taught a lesson. It teaches patience, wonder, and appreciation for nature and gentle interaction with the outside world. A short biography of Kahlo is also included.
Review:
“This luminescent homage to Frida Kahlo doesn't hew to her artwork's mood but entrances on its own merit . . . Visually radiant.” ―Kirkus Reviews
(2014, July 29) [Review of the book Viva Frida, by Y. Morales]. Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/yuyi-morales-2/viva-frida/
Library Uses:
This would be a great item to add to a multi-cultural picture book display with bilingual books. Or it could be used for either a program related to National Hispanic Heritage Month in September, or a display on kids books about artists.
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