My name is Gabito/Mi nombre is Gabito.

By staff -- Críticas, 11/15/2007

K-Gr 3–In the tradition of her previous biographical accounts, My Name is Celia and My name is Gabriela, Brown dazzles readers in this telling of Gabriel García Márquez’s magical childhood. Mesmerizing color-pencil, full-page illustrations wrap around the text to create what seems to be a perfect balance of art and language. Based on García Márquez’s adult autobiography Living to Tell the Tale (Knopf, 2003), this wonderful, engaging narrative transports readers to Gabito’s early childhood in northern Colombia. He shares heartwarming times with his grandpa and learns about the tough life of the fruit pickers he observes in the nearby banana plantation. The curious, budding storyteller is a dreamer who cherishes life’s every moment. When he decides to share his enchanted world with others, he is on his way to becoming one of the most acclaimed Latin American authors. Young readers will relate to Gabito’s escapades into his private and real worlds and understand without puzzlement how he moves between them effortlessly. Together with Brown’s other titles, this is a must-have for any library collection, especially those interested in adding multicultural titles. An accessible, high-quality choice for bilingual families.—Liliana Barro Zecker, Associate Professor, School of Education, DePaul Univ., Chicago, IL