As we’re midway through National Hispanic Heritage Month, I’m celebrating with picture books about Mexican visual and performing artists by a talented Mexican & American illustrator/author.
Danza!: Amalia Hernández and El Ballet Folklórico de México
Author & Illustrator: Duncan Tonatiuh
Publisher/Date: Abrams Books for Young Readers/2017
Ages: 6-10
Themes: dancer; biography; Mexican culture
Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):
Award-winning author and illustrator Duncan Tonatiuh tells the story of Amalia Hernández, dancer and founder of El Ballet Folklórico de México.
Published in time for the 100th anniversary of Hernández’s birth, Danza! is the first picture book about the famous dancer and choreographer.
Danza! is a celebration of Hernández’s life and of the rich history of dance in Mexico. As a child, Amalia always thought she would grow up to be a teacher, until she saw a performance of dancers in her town square. She was fascinated by the way the dancers twirled and swayed, and she knew that someday she would be a dancer, too. She began to study many different types of dance, including ballet and modern, under some of the best teachers in the world. Hernández traveled throughout Mexico studying and learning regional dances. Soon she founded her own dance company, El Ballet Folklórico de México, where she integrated her knowledge of ballet and modern dance with folkloric dances. The group began to perform all over the country and soon all over the world, becoming an international sensation that still tours today….
With Tonatiuh’s distinctive Mixtec-inspired artwork and colorful drawings that seem to leap off the page, Danza! will enthrall and inspire young readers with the fascinating story of this important dancer and choreographer.
Read my review. Danza! is the 2018 Américas Award winner, which was presented in Washington, DC, this past Friday, 28 September.
Diego Rivera: His World and Ours
Author & Illustrator: Duncan Tonatiuh
Publisher/Date: Abrams/2011
Ages: 5-9
Themes: artist; biography; Mexican culture
Short Synopsis (from Goodreads):
This charming book introduces one of the most popular artists of the twentieth century, Diego Rivera, to young readers. It tells the story of Diego as a young, mischievous boy who demonstrated a clear passion for art and then went on to become one of the most famous painters in the world.
Duncan Tonatiuh also prompts readers to think about what Diego would paint today. Just as Diego’s murals depicted great historical events in Mexican culture or celebrated native peoples, if Diego were painting today, what would his artwork depict? How would his paintings reflect today’s culture?
Read a review at CCBC.
I paired these books because they celebrate important figures of Mexican culture, and Tonatiuh brought both artists to life with his distinctive Mixtec illustration style.
Looking for similar reads? See the list of past Américas Award winners and honor picture books, including All the Way to Havana (Margarita Engle/Mike Curato, 2017). See other books by Duncan Tonatiuh, including Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant’s Tale, The Princess and the Warrior, and Undocumented: A Worker’s Fight.
Wander, Ponder, Write 
This Diego Rivera book looks great. I’m going to make sure our art teacher sees this.
Thanks!
Thank you! Rivera & his wife were amazing artists & it’s important, I think, for kids today to experience their work.
I know she teaches about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera but I’ve never seen this book.
Haven’t seen the Diego Rivera book! It looks amazing!
It’s been out a few years, but hasn’t seemed to garner the attention of Tonatiuh’s other works. I like that Tonatiuh asks what Rivera would feature in a mural today, thus focusing the story not just on how Rivera painted but why he painted what he did.