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A review by jecoats
Federico and the Wolf by Rebecca J. Gomez
5.0
I found this book while browsing for Little Red Riding Hood texts on the Chicago Public Library website. I checked out a digital copy of the book.
The story follows Federico's journey as he goes to the market to pick up ingredients to make the perfect pico. Once Federico has acquired the ingredients, he journeys through the woods to his Abuelo's shop, but is stopped by a hungry lobo looking for food. Federico ignores the lobo, and rushes off to his Abuelo's shop. But the lobo beats him there, and disguised as Federico's Abuelo, attempts to make a meal out of the young boy.
This was a delightful retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Other than a few minor changes, such as the logo locking up the Abuelo character instead of eating them whole, Federico and the Wolf follows the original tale pretty closely. I really enjoyed how the book used the Spanish words for Grandfather (Abuelo) and wolf (lobo), as well as others peppered throughout the narrative. This could be useful in classes with both EL students and native English speakers who are learning Spanish. The book even includes a recipe for pico at the end, which is a really beautiful touch. The artwork is very lovely - Elisa Chavarri uses a lot of bright colors and action scenes to make the story jump off the page. She also uses a lot of white space, which I think helps the reader really focus on the character designs (which are fantastic).
I don't think this book has much function as a window or a sliding glass door. I do think it gives us as authentic of a Latinx depiction as it can, but the story rushes along quite fast, and we never really linger with any of the cultural elements for too long. I do think it could be an effective mirror for Latinx students, especially considering so much of the traditional literature retellings I found depicted mostly white people. For our Latinx students, this picturebook would help them see themselves as the hero in a fairytale.
The story follows Federico's journey as he goes to the market to pick up ingredients to make the perfect pico. Once Federico has acquired the ingredients, he journeys through the woods to his Abuelo's shop, but is stopped by a hungry lobo looking for food. Federico ignores the lobo, and rushes off to his Abuelo's shop. But the lobo beats him there, and disguised as Federico's Abuelo, attempts to make a meal out of the young boy.
This was a delightful retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. Other than a few minor changes, such as the logo locking up the Abuelo character instead of eating them whole, Federico and the Wolf follows the original tale pretty closely. I really enjoyed how the book used the Spanish words for Grandfather (Abuelo) and wolf (lobo), as well as others peppered throughout the narrative. This could be useful in classes with both EL students and native English speakers who are learning Spanish. The book even includes a recipe for pico at the end, which is a really beautiful touch. The artwork is very lovely - Elisa Chavarri uses a lot of bright colors and action scenes to make the story jump off the page. She also uses a lot of white space, which I think helps the reader really focus on the character designs (which are fantastic).
I don't think this book has much function as a window or a sliding glass door. I do think it gives us as authentic of a Latinx depiction as it can, but the story rushes along quite fast, and we never really linger with any of the cultural elements for too long. I do think it could be an effective mirror for Latinx students, especially considering so much of the traditional literature retellings I found depicted mostly white people. For our Latinx students, this picturebook would help them see themselves as the hero in a fairytale.