CITATION:
Tonatiuh, Duncan. Dear
Primo: A Letter to My Cousin. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers,
2010. ISBN: 9780810938724
SUMMARY:
This book is about two cousins, Charlie and Carlitos. Charlie
lives in New York City, and his cousin, Carlitos, lives on a farm in Mexico.
Although they have never met, they write letters to each other about what their
life is like. They discuss their surroundings, food, schools, and games as they
explain their communities and lives.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
In this creative picture book by Duncan Tonatiuh, two
cousins who have never met discuss their lives, one in New York City and the
other on a farm in Mexico. The book is organized in a series of letters (“To
Carlito” or “To Charlie”) from each boy telling the other about what their life
is like. The characterization of the boys is simple, each revealing their
interests, activities, and family life. On each page, there is one side with a
picture of Charlie doing something in New York City, and the other side shows Carlitos
doing a similar activity in Mexico, with a short first-person explanation of
what that cousin is doing. While there are many differences, there are also
many similarities.
There is clever inclusion of Spanish words that enhances the
book. The reader is introduced to many Spanish words, such as pollo (chicken), papalote
(kite), and Mercado (market). They both play sports (one plays football, while
the other plays basketball), listen to music (one listens to mariachis and the
other listens to marching bands), and celebrate holidays (Posadas in Mexico and
Thanksgiving in America). It is intended for English speaking students, but it
allows students to use context clues to identify some words. There is a
glossary of Spanish words in the back and their translations and pronunciations.
Also, an Author’s Note explains Tonatiuh’s own life growing up in Mexico.
Tonatiuh’s large illustrations show simple lines but
lots of action. Each scene shows the cousins doing something (eating, shopping, or playing a sport). His unique style of showing textures and hand-drawn items
through a digital collage process are unique. Each person’s eyes are shown as a
half circle, and each of their heads are facing upwards, as if showing
confidence and pride. The illustrations add to the style of the story, and support
the words beautifully.
This book depicts life and culture on a Mexican farm, as
well as life in a large city in America. It is a realistic and positive portrayal
of both settings. There are many cultural markers in this book that validate
its cultural authenticity. For example, the scenes of the boys having a snack
after school revealed that Carlitoes would eat quesadillas at home with their
mother after school, while Charlie would go to a pizzeria and eat a slice of
pizza.
It was also refreshing to see that the boys’ bodies and
faces looked the same, with the differences found in their clothing and hair.
Carlitoes had longer hair, and Charlie had shorter hair and wore a baseball
cap. In their clothing, it can be observed that Carlitoes wore sandals and shorts,
while Charlie is seen in jeans and tennis shoes. The drastic differences of
their lives can be seen on the page where Carlitoes describes how he rides to
school each day on his bicicleta, by cactus and dogs. On the other hand, Charlie rides to school on
a subway in tunnels underground. While these two
boys’ lives are depicted showing their differences, there is no slant by Tonatiuh
to showcase one life over another. Things that point to the Mexican culture are
a hard-working farmer and his son he helping to feed the animals, eating
homemade quesadillas and tortillas, Mexican games such as trompos and canicas, tunas
(a prickly fruit that is native to Mexico), mariachis, and traditions such as
Dia de los Muertos.
There is a strong and simple theme in this book. While life
is different in Mexico and New York City, neither one is better than the other.
This book shows that someone can share the same culture while living in
completely different surroundings. This will resonate with many Mexican American
children, who live in America but have family living in Mexico. Also, a huge
take-away for any reader is that children live differently all over the world,
both within the borders of America and beyond. This book does an excellent job
of affirming and validating the identities of two boys, one who lives in Mexico
and the other who lives in America. While they both have rich Mexican heritage,
their lives look different because of where they live. It is a validating book,
especially for Mexican-American children, because each boy shows pride in his experience.
Both boys relate to their cousins because they realize they
are family. The reader can conclude that Charlie feels a bond to retain his
family’s traditions from Mexico because he wants to know his cousin Carlitos
better, and the same can be said for Carlitos, who wants to know Charlie better
too. A satisfying ending, where both boys decide “My primo should
come visit me!” leaves the reader imagining how much fun each will have when
they finally experience the other’s world.
REVIEWS AND AWARDS:
Pura Belpre Honor Book
Monarch Award Nominee
Publisher’s Weekly:
“Carlitos lives in Mexico and his cousin Charlie lives in an
American city. Though they have never met, they compare their daily routines
through letters. “Every morning I ride my bicicleta to school,”
Carlitos writes. Charlie takes the subway, which he compares to “a long metal
snake.” Tonatiuh draws from ancient Mexican art for his collages—always shown
in profile, Carlitos and Charlie have oversize hands and feet and stylized
facial features, almost like stone statues—while skyscrapers and graffiti
provide modern flair. It's a subtly reflective story about friendship and
commonalities.”
School Library Journal:
“Charlie, who lives in America, exchanges letters with his
cousin Carlitos in Mexico. Carlitos describes his life on a farm amid the
mountains, including the Spanish names for what is around him. Charlie in turn
depicts his city and skyscrapers. They talk about their different ways of
getting to school, subway versus Bicicleta; the games they play,
basketball versus futbol; the foods they eat; and what they do with their
friends. Carlitos and his parents shop in an open-air market, while Charlie and
his mom go to the supermarket. They write about the entertainments around them
and their holiday traditions and celebrations. Together they conclude that they
should visit each other. The boys are depicted on the cover in a stylized
manner influenced by some ancient Mixtec and other Mexican artifacts. The
illustrations combine Tonatiuh's hand drawings with other pre-structured
materials, colored and collaged digitally. They are just detailed enough to
compare the lifestyles of the cousins. Along with a glossary, the author has
included a note about the relationship of his life as both a Mexican and an
American to the story.”
CONNECTIONS:
An excellent to follow reading Dear Primo: A Letter to My
Cousin would be set each student up with a pen pal from another country. This
would give each student a chance to correspond to that student and learn a bit
about another country, while sharing what life is like in America.
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