Bibliographic data
Soto, Gary. Marisol (American Girl Today). Middleton, WI: American Girl, 2004.
Brief plot summary
Marisol is a ten year-old girl that loves to dance. Her favorite dance is the ballet folklorico, which is a Mexican dance. Her parents decide to move to a suburb of Chicago, where they feel that Marisol might have a better life because the city is getting dangerous. Marisol is saddened because the streets hold all of her friends and she will miss dance lessons. What she finds out is that she can be happy elsewhere also, but keep her friends close from Chicago. She might even come upon another dance studio in her new town.
Critical analysis
This book keeps a reader’s attention, like many other American Girl series books. The book has a great sense of a typical Latino family. They live in a city and their neighborhood seems to be not safe enough for Marisol anymore.
The Latino girl focuses on all the good characteristics her old neighborhood as she prepares to leave. She will forever love dance and is saddened when she can’t find a dance studio in her new town.
I found it odd that this book focused on the negative aspects of living in a Latino neighborhood that seem to have more positive aspects than negative, then to move to a predominantly white, suburban neighborhood to make Marisol more safe and to provide a better life for her. The book did not embrace Latino culture in that sense.
The book has a few Spanish words within the English language dispersed, which is called interlingualism. The names of the characters are typical Hispanic names.
There were just a few illustrations throughout the book depicting the events that were going on in the text. In the back of the book there is a small section that lets readers follow along with four different girls, from many different cultural backgrounds and their types of dances. Anna is learning ballet but likes modern dance. Sisters Laura and Anna are very well trained in pointe ballet. They have been in many different ballet recitals, including The Nutcracker. Alinne is from Mexico City and enjoys ballet folklorico and has many different skirts for the different type of Mexican dances she performs.
The end of the book contains a glossary of Spanish words used throughout the book. This glossary would be helpful to those that do not know many Spanish words and their meaning.
Review excerpt
I have looked everywhere for editorial reviews and have exhausted my search. I’ve checked many of the databases located in the Texas Woman’s University. I have also checked Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I even tried to use Google for any reviews and came up with nothing.
Connections
Children and read more books by Gary Soto and also check out more of the American Girl series.
A lot of the book consists of discussing different types of dance. Show children the different costumes of dances and perhaps even demonstrate the ballet folklorico.
Soto, Gary. Marisol (American Girl Today). Middleton, WI: American Girl, 2004.
Brief plot summary
Marisol is a ten year-old girl that loves to dance. Her favorite dance is the ballet folklorico, which is a Mexican dance. Her parents decide to move to a suburb of Chicago, where they feel that Marisol might have a better life because the city is getting dangerous. Marisol is saddened because the streets hold all of her friends and she will miss dance lessons. What she finds out is that she can be happy elsewhere also, but keep her friends close from Chicago. She might even come upon another dance studio in her new town.
Critical analysis
This book keeps a reader’s attention, like many other American Girl series books. The book has a great sense of a typical Latino family. They live in a city and their neighborhood seems to be not safe enough for Marisol anymore.
The Latino girl focuses on all the good characteristics her old neighborhood as she prepares to leave. She will forever love dance and is saddened when she can’t find a dance studio in her new town.
I found it odd that this book focused on the negative aspects of living in a Latino neighborhood that seem to have more positive aspects than negative, then to move to a predominantly white, suburban neighborhood to make Marisol more safe and to provide a better life for her. The book did not embrace Latino culture in that sense.
The book has a few Spanish words within the English language dispersed, which is called interlingualism. The names of the characters are typical Hispanic names.
There were just a few illustrations throughout the book depicting the events that were going on in the text. In the back of the book there is a small section that lets readers follow along with four different girls, from many different cultural backgrounds and their types of dances. Anna is learning ballet but likes modern dance. Sisters Laura and Anna are very well trained in pointe ballet. They have been in many different ballet recitals, including The Nutcracker. Alinne is from Mexico City and enjoys ballet folklorico and has many different skirts for the different type of Mexican dances she performs.
The end of the book contains a glossary of Spanish words used throughout the book. This glossary would be helpful to those that do not know many Spanish words and their meaning.
Review excerpt
I have looked everywhere for editorial reviews and have exhausted my search. I’ve checked many of the databases located in the Texas Woman’s University. I have also checked Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I even tried to use Google for any reviews and came up with nothing.
Connections
Children and read more books by Gary Soto and also check out more of the American Girl series.
A lot of the book consists of discussing different types of dance. Show children the different costumes of dances and perhaps even demonstrate the ballet folklorico.
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