Leo PolitiCritiques

Juan is a young boy who lives nearby a California mission. He is friends with an old gardener, Julian. They both love the swallows that live at the mission, and are sad to see them go when they migrate for the winter. Juan prepares his home and garden for when the swallows return on St. Joseph's Day.

Juan is a young boy who lives nearby a California mission. He is friends with an old gardener, Julian. They both love the swallows that live at the mission, and are sad to see them go when they migrate for the winter. Juan prepares his home and garden for when the swallows return on St. Joseph's Day.

Every summer, the swallows leave San Juan Capistrano and fly far away, to a peaceful green island -- but they always come back in the spring, on St. Joseph's Day. Juan loves "las golondrinas," and so does his friend, Julian, the gardener at the mission.

This year, Juan plants a garden in his own yard. There's nothing he wants more than for the swallows to nest there. And on St. Joseph's Day, his dream comes true.

Leo Politi is the beloved author and illustrator of "Pedro, The Angel of Olvera Street," among many other books for children. "Song of the Swallows" won the Caldecott Medal in 1950.

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Mr. Fong's toy shop was a popular gathering place for all of the children in Los Angeles' Chinatown. With the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival approaching, Mr. Fong taught the children about the ancient Chinese art of shadow puppets, and together they all created a very special play to put on during the community's celebration...

Italian-American artist and children's author Leo Politi, who won the Caldecott Medal in 1950 for his Song of the Swallows, and whose work was known for its celebration of diverse cultures, turns in this 1978 picture-book to the Chinese community of Los Angeles. Rather text-heavy for a picture-book, Mr. Fong's Toy Shop is an engaging and informative work, one which includes some Moon Festival-related folklore, and a celebration of the art of Chinese puppet theater. The accompanying black-and-white illustrations are charming. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for stories set during the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival, or featuring Chinese cultural traditions.

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Christmas story of the Pasada.

Although somewhat dated, this is a true story of the Mission San Juan Capistrano and the birds that return each year. The drawings are incredibly accurate, as are the descriptions of the celebrations that accompany their return each year.

This book is about boy named Pedro and his mexican culture and how he celebrates Christmas. This book has spanish integrated into the text, and the author continuosly reinforces the few previously learned words throughout the entirity of the book. This book would be very useful while teaching about the mexican culture or even just culture diffrentiation.

A young boy learns about the habits and life histories of swallows in his mission town of San Juan Capistrano. The story is of the friendship between a young boy named Juan, and an old gardener named Julian who rings the bell at the mission. Together, they welcome back the swallows returning from their winter migration. This book could help students understand the change of the seasons, and how seasons affect plants and wildlife.

This lovely picture book tells the story of the Swallows of Capistrano, who return each year on St Joseph’s Day, to build their nests and have new chicks.

Juan is a boy who loves to wander the gardens of the mission, who are tended by Julian. The older man teaches the boy the song of the swallows, calling them by their Spanish name las golondrinas. Helping Julian in the gardens, and watching his beloved swallows, Juan learns about nature and the cycle of life. Julian also tells him a little of the history of the Spanish missionaries who built the mission with the help of the native people, and in return taught the Indians several skills, such as making shoes, or milling grain.

The detailed illustrations are beautifully rendered. Full of the soft light of a summer evening, they give me the same feeling of peace as a walk through a garden. I can practically hear the tinkle of the fountain, or the twitter of the birds, and smell the roses.

This story incorporates a healthy mix of dialogue, and vocabulary for students. The main character lives in California and enjoys swallows. Him and his friends sing songs about the swallows, because they want the swallows to return from the south. He plants a garden in front of the house to attract the swallows to his house so he can appreciate the birds all year around. I would recommend this book for older students because of the dialogue and the complexity of the words used in the book.

Both history and folktale: A young boy, Juan, meets a gardener and bell-ringer at the Mission, Julian, and asks questions about Capistrano. The gardener tells Juan the story of the swallows and how they always come to Capistrano during the warm spring and summer months, and how the Mission is a significant part of California and Native American history. Most importantly, the story emphasizes the kindness to nature and animals. The Song of the Swallows reveals that a part of history does indeed exist in the stories that are told. And for Juan, he happened to find it just down the road from where he lived.

It's clear that Politi is devout - consider the line When the nests were blessed with tiny birds...." So some of the prejudice in favor of the Mission is understandable & tolerable.

But to focus on the story of the boy and the birds - I agree that this sweet story with its enchanting pictures deserved a Caldecott. It's still not the best picture book of the era, though, imo, and I'm just not sure of the appeal for children.

Otoh, my favorite from these years, [b:Blueberries for Sal|133526|Blueberries for Sal|Robert McCloskey|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1363586056s/133526.jpg|1416904], definitely has kid appeal - my grown sons still remember it fondly. Also more appealing to kids, and to me, are the honor books [b:Bartholomew and the Oobleck|275320|Bartholomew and the Oobleck|Dr. Seuss|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388280889s/275320.jpg|266979] and [b:The Most Wonderful Doll in the World|236645|The Most Wonderful Doll in the World (Blue Ribbon Book)|Phyllis McGinley|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1387735368s/236645.jpg|2924815]."

I liked this book because I relate to Moy-Moy's closeness with her older brothers. I loved the protective older brother characterization as their younger sister began school in a a new country. I liked the reality in this book of adjusting to a new culture. It is not easy to adjust and this book shows the difficult transition. The family experiences culture shock as their youngest daughter begins preschool which is nothing like what they know from China. Nevertheless, the family learns to celebrate Chinese New Year in their new home and their neighbors are surprising open to accepting the Chinese culture. The big idea of this book is to be proud of your home culture and do not hide it! Also, there is a focus on family bonds which every culture can support.

Compared to most of the books I have read recently this is the most solemn story. The story is soothing and calming because of the soft illustrations. It tells of a sweet boy making friends with swallows and building a garden so they will return each year. The story promotes friendship as well as a sense of self worth. Although the story may be a bit outdated, the theme of friendship reigns true across all generations and cultures.

Summary: This book tells about the every day life of Moy Moy, a Chinese American preschooler. The book tells about how she spends her days and then focuses on Chinese New Year's celebration. It tell about traditions such as the children's parade and The Dragons in the parades, and Gift giving.

Review:
I gave this book a high rating because it is well written. I actually learned a lot about this Holiday while peering at what a small child might experience it as. The books does tells us a lot about the holiday but it focuses on the little girl. For example when the author first introduces the reader to the tradition of having a "lion" or "dragon" in the parade, he does so by telling a story about how Moy Moy was, at first, afraid of the dragon. The book is written in simple vocabulary but it works well with the content and the perspective of the main character.
I also really enjoyed the illustrations in the book. They complemented the story well. For example there was an illustration of Moy Moy with her head inside the "lion" inspecting it and one of her carrying a lamp at the parade that really stood out because they when with the story so well. They are also very colorful and, while not as abstract as some of the ones found in newer books, they did have an interesting angle to it, like the way the illustrator drew the firecrackers as yellow stars surrounding the "Dragon" with everyone, including Moy Moy watching from above. The scene was a little chaotic but I felt like that was very intentional on the illustrator's part.

This is a gentle, peaceful story. The setting is the coast of California at the San Juan Capistrano mission. Each year on St. Joseph's Day, the community celebrates the return of the swallows.

Juan, a young boy, often visits Julio the gardener of the mission. Together they observe the birds and enjoy the ebb and flow of the life of the sparrows and the return and then leave, and then another year the cycle begins anew.

The illustrations are clear and pretty, but lack the depth of some recent Caldecott winners.

There is a rich blending of cultures, including both Spanish and English words.

This book will require some discussion, as it is quite dated and does not present the mission system in all honesty. It can be used, but it must be compared to what really happened with the Native Americans who were enslaved. Could be part of a missions unit, seasons, or animal behavior unit.

This delightful little tale is about two friends, Juan and Julian who together ring bells at the Mission of San Juan Capistrano on St. Joseph's day to welcome swallows as they return from the sea on St. Joseph's Day. I love the details of the illustrations. A very nice book overall, would be great for 3rd grade.

Young Juan becomes attached to the swallows who frequent the mission garden and is eager for them to return in the spring. The majority of illustrations are grey and pink with double page spreads in full color interspersed. Illustrations show tenderness but not much vitality.

This is a gentle picture book about Mission San Juan Capistrano and "las golondrinas" (swallows) that return every St. Joseph Day in the spring. It won the Caldecott medal in 1950 and I remember this book fondly from my childhood. However, it paints a rosy picture of the missions and will have to be balanced with alternative texts.