From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 5?Coming out in the same season as Alma Flor Ada's Gathering the Sun (Lothrop, 1997), Tomatoes faces some stiff competition. Nonetheless, this collection of verses in English and Spanish, illustrated with bold, primitive paintings, carves a lighthearted niche all its own. Most of the poems are short, but even the longer ones are composed of telegraphic one- and two-syllable lines. The effect is that of quick snapshots of moments in life. The subjects?food, weather, plants, dreams?are all familiar ones. The selections scan equally well in English and in Spanish. This is an excellent teaching tool for units on poetry composition and on colorful use of language. Of special utility in bilingual classrooms, this book provides an amusing way to explore the same ideas in two languages. For more depth in both poem content and artwork, Gathering the Sun is clearly superior, but the books complement each other well. Both are good introductions to the serious and involved poetry of Lori Carlson's Cool Salsa (Holt, 1994), which is more issue oriented and challenging.?Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WACopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Ages 5-8. This bilingual collection of poems by Chicano poet Alarcon celebrates spring and the fruits of family and sunshine. As with "Chile / El chile" ("sometimes / a bite is all it takes / for a supernova / to explode"), the poems are short and simple imagistic reflections exuberantly expanded by Gonzalez in colorful double-page illustrations featuring Latino children and a grandmother frolicking with playful pets beneath a smiling sun. Picture-book poetry for collections seeking Latino literature or just a burst of California sunshine. Annie Ayres


From Kirkus Reviews
An energetic cast of characters in 20 short, freely styled poems in both English and Spanish help readers ``see everything for the first time.'' ``My Grandma's Songs'' ``would follow/the beat of/the washing machine'' and ``could turn/my grandma/into a young girl.'' The laughing tomatoes turn their ``wire- framed/bushes/into/Christmas trees/in spring,'' shown in a spread in which wedged into the smiling mouths of children and pets are, somewhat astonishingly, slices of heavily seeded tomato. With vibrantly stylized illustrations, this lively gathering carries an invitation from Alarc¢n to ``make these poems yours'' by reading them, words followed by the final short poem--``there are no endings/just new beginnings.'' An accessible, open-hearted collection. (Picture book/poetry. 4-9) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.


Sesame Street Parents, April 1999
Tomatoes laugh and chiles explode in this bilingual collection of poems by an award-winning poet. The vibrant, full-page illustrations, a feast for the eyes, depict a group of Latino children and their grandma frolicking in sunlit fields. Kids will also delight in the magical images of the words ("each tortilla/is a tsaty/round of applause/for the sun").


Language Notes
Text: English, Spanish


Card catalog description
A bilingual collection of humorous and serious poems about family, nature, and celebrations by a renowned Mexican American poet.


From the Publisher
Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems has received the Pura Belpr Honor Award from the American Library Association; the National Parenting Publications Gold Medal Award; and was a Riverbank Review "Childrens Book of Distinction" Finalist.


About the Author
Francisco X. Alarcon is an award-winning poet and educator. His acclaimed first book of poetry for children, Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems, received the National Parenting Publications Gold Medal Award and a Pura Belpre Honor Award from the American Library Association. The author of eight collections of poetry, Alarcon lives and teaches in Davis, California. Maya Christina Gonzalez is a painter and graphic artist. Her artwork for her first award-winning collaboration with Francisco X. Alarcon, Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems, has been praised by reviewers as "upbeat," "innovative," and "so bountiful it feels as if it's spilling off the pages." Gonzalez lives and frolics in San Francisco, California.

ANNOTATION

A bilingual collection of humorous and serious poems about family, nature, and celebrations by a renowned Mexican American poet.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A bilingual collection of humorous and serious poems about family, nature, and celebrations by a renowned Mexican American poet.

FROM THE CRITICS

School Library Journal

K-Gr 5Coming out in the same season as Alma Flor Ada's Gathering the Sun (Lothrop, 1997), Tomatoes faces some stiff competition. Nonetheless, this collection of verses in English and Spanish, illustrated with bold, primitive paintings, carves a lighthearted niche all its own. Most of the poems are short, but even the longer ones are composed of telegraphic one- and two-syllable lines. The effect is that of quick snapshots of moments in life. The subjectsfood, weather, plants, dreamsare all familiar ones. The selections scan equally well in English and in Spanish. This is an excellent teaching tool for units on poetry composition and on colorful use of language. Of special utility in bilingual classrooms, this book provides an amusing way to explore the same ideas in two languages. For more depth in both poem content and artwork, Gathering the Sun is clearly superior, but the books complement each other well. Both are good introductions to the serious and involved poetry of Lori Carlson's Cool Salsa (Holt, 1994), which is more issue oriented and challenging.Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA

Kirkus Reviews

An energetic cast of characters in 20 short, freely styled poems in both English and Spanish help readers "see everything for the first time."

"My Grandma's Songs" "would follow/the beat of/the washing machine" and "could turn/my grandma/into a young girl." The laughing tomatoes turn their "wire- framed/bushes/into/Christmas trees/in spring," shown in a spread in which wedged into the smiling mouths of children and pets are, somewhat astonishingly, slices of heavily seeded tomato. With vibrantly stylized illustrations, this lively gathering carries an invitation from Alarcón to "make these poems yours" by reading them, words followed by the final short poem—"there are no endings/just new beginnings." An accessible, open-hearted collection.