A Paintbrush for Paco

by Tracey Kyle, Joshua Heinsz (Illustrator)

Overview

Meet a little boy named Paco who loves to draw but can't seem to concentrate during school in this picture book that's sprinkled with Spanish words!

Paco gazed out at the late-morning sun.

He wondered why recess had not yet begun.

He wanted to go to el campo and play,

and act like a matador shouting "¡Olé!"

Paco loves daydreaming and drawing, but he struggles to concentrate during class. When his profesor takes him to the art room, Paco is amazed by the colorful paints: pink, rosado; purple, morado; fiery orange, anaranjado; and more! Could art be just what Paco needs?

Complete with an author's note and glossary of Spanish words, this story is a great introduction to Spanish with a strong message about the power of art!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781499805444
Publisher:	little bee books
Publication date:	07/03/2018
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	1,053,671
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Tracey Kyle grew up in New Jersey and spent much of her childhood reading and writing poems. After seeing the boy band Menudo perform on a Latino TV station in middle school, she decided to learn Spanish. She studied in Madrid, a lively city which inspired her first picture book, Gazpacho for Nacho. She spends most of her time as Señora Kyle, teaching Spanish to a fun group of eighth-graders. She currently lives in Virginia with her husband and two cats, and when she's not writing lesson plans or working on a new story, she loves to read, cook, and practice yoga.

Joshua Heinsz is a children's book illustrator. He has a love for bright and whimsical imagery with a flair for the fantastical and an air of nostalgia. When not drawing and painting, Joshua can be found working as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor. He currently lives in Chicago.

Editorial Reviews

01/01/2018
K-Gr 2—As el profesor is giving a lesson, Paco daydreams about playing fútbol outside and enjoying nature. He is redirected to pay attention, but after about an hour, Paco is once again distracted. He begins to draw scenes from his pueblo with "the montañas that stretched to the sky, with pájaros swooping down low, flying high." His teacher recognizes his talents and invites him to the art room. There, Paco is able to unleash his artistic side, and the radiant colors in his daydreams are put on paper. That night, Paco peacefully dreams of the stunning and captivating colors he encountered. A glossary and pronunciation of Spanish words interspersed throughout is provided. The author, a Spanish teacher, explains how she has come across many students like Paco in her classroom and advises fellow educators to seek out their students' creative sides. Pair with a classic like Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon. VERDICT A tale for Spanish and art students alike, allowing them to be inspired to let the right side of their brains shine.—Martha Rico, El Paso ISD, TX

School Library Journal

2018-04-16
Paco is a fidgety daydreamer. After his teacher reprimands him for not paying attention, the boy compromises by drawing during the lesson. His teacher is amazed by the artwork and takes him to the school's art studio, where the inexperienced artist miraculously knows how to mix paint. Alarmingly, no one seems concerned when Paco doesn't return to the classroom. Kyle's uncomplicated rhyming story employs code-switching to introduce Spanish-language vocabulary. However, the masculine form for teacher, el professor, is only used once—thereafter, it's used as if it were a proper name without the article "el"—an oversight that will strike many as amateurish. The rhymes and meters are at times forced and awkward. "He colored montañas that stretched to the sky, / with pájaros swooping down low, flying high." Heinsz's manga-inspired illustrations are bright but confusing. In one scene Paco is drawing his hometown seemingly somewhere in Spain, and then he's flying over saguaros in the U.S. Southwest. A bullfighting motif is repeated by both author and illustrator despite its growing unpopularity worldwide and its representation of colonization. The author's note inadvertently implies that only minority kids "like Paco" are the restless ones. An uneven phonetic glossary is included. Some words are Anglicized while others are not. "Que" is "kay" instead of "keh," while "Olé" is correctly rendered "oh-LEH." Paco has black hair and brown skin, and his teacher presents white; his classroom is diverse.Not, alas, as strong as Kyle's earlier Gazpacho for Nacho (illustrated by Carolina Farías, 2014). (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews