Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin

Title-Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin

Author- Duncan Tonatiuh

Illustrator- Duncan Tonatiuh

Genre- Realistic Fiction

Medium-Watercolors, wavy lines, colorful

Theme: Two boys have the similar ways of living their life in different country. 

Summary: A cousin in America, another one in Mexico write letters to each other sharing their lifestyle. They introduce themselves a new culture.Mexican favorites to eat quesadillas, American eats pizza. Mexican plays soccer, American plays basketball. 

Literacy Elements-

Setting-This book showed the preview images of Mexico and America. It introduced several scenes of what they have to offer such as favorite sports, transportations, outdoors, and places to shop food. This book offers the children to have a general imagine of what's in Mexico and America.

Style-It's a third person view involved both cousins' perspectives on the lifestyles. Duncan Tonatiuh did a good job drawing the pictures of cousins' eager to read the letters to learn the lifestyle in different country. This book gives the children head start to prospect the lifestyles in Mexico and America and how both parallel. It's a book that children aren't likely to have problem reading. It has a few words with the colorful pictures taking over all over.

Plot: It's about two cousins from different countries finding a way to get know each other by writing letters.  

Characterization: This book focused on two characters, two cousins who are from different countries trying to get know each other through writing letters. The illustrator did a good job recognized the cousins' curiosity by showing their eager to read letters. At last, the emotions showed that they want to visit each other's country.

Evaluation: I like this book especially because I am from South California. I see plenty of Mexican-Americans everyday. This book is a wonderful influence to the children by understanding of people's identify as Mexican-Americans. This book gives the broad ideas of the lifestyles in Mexico and America and how both are similar in many ways. It's one of the picture books with the strongest expose to multicultural I've ever read.