Adela's Mariachi Band

Praise

Adela loves everything about her family’s mariachi band (“how the music skips and bounces…. how her family dances and claps”)—except “the fact that she isn’t in it.” But her early attempts at playing various instruments and joining the dancers quickly reveal that becoming proficient will take a long time (“When Papá plays la trompeta, big, beautiful sounds burst out…. When Adela tries it, a small, fizzly sound dribbles out,” Vega writes). Frustrated with her attempts, Adela makes a drawing of beloved mariachi elements that presages her own participation. Rodriguez Medina’s warm-toned digital illustrations offer texture and depth to a story that conveys one child’s early attempts at being part of something she loves. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author’s note and sources conclude. Ages 4–7.
—Publishers Weekly


This is a fun and colorful book about the art of mariachi music in Mexico. The pictures are very colorful pencil drawings that illustrate mariachi culture. This is written by Denise Vega whose father and grandfather were in a mariachi group. She grew up listening to them play this music. The book goes through many facets of playing in a mariachi band. Adela hears the trumpet play, the vihuela (Spanish string instrument similar to a guitar) sing, and the violin strings soar. She watches her mother and sisters dance to the music, their long colorful skirts twirling in the air. Written for young children, this is a great way to introduce the art form to them, and then pair it with a video of musicians and dancers playing and dancing to this music. Great book to use for Hispanic Heritage Month celebrations in September, and as part of a unit on Mexican culture any other time of the year as well.
—Children’s Literature