Book Summary: This vibrant story gave the life of the King of Mambo, Tito Puente. It is a children's biography, that begins when Tito was little until he was an adult. When he was younger he would hit pots and pans and make a big ruckus in his neighborhood, that everyone told his parents to get him music lessons. When they did his career took off. He would enter talent shows at his church and win everytime with his dancing and playing. He formed his own band when he was a teenager right before having to go into the navy. While in the navy he was in the band and played the saxophone. He then got out and dreamed of being the band leader of his own band. Not too long did that dream come true and he went on to win Grammy's and play with other well known Latino musicians and artists.
Reference:Brown, M. (2013). Tito Puente, New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
Impressions: This book was fun and colorful with information about Tito Puente. Brown succeeded in making a children's biography simple and unique for the audience. She used language that was appropriate for ages 5-8 and illustrations that would appeal to young and old.
Her use of red, orange, blue and white made the books come a love with the theme of dance and music. She used cartoon-like illustrations that over exaggerated the look of the people but gave an idea of what Tito Puente would look like.
She also has a short biography at the end of the story in English and Spanish that validates what has been written in the book. This book would be great to use in a dual language program or ESL classroom because of the translation of text. I would recommend this book to ages 5-8/grades K-2.
Professional Reviews:
From Booklist
“¡Tum Tica! ¡Tum Tica! The dancers twirled, the lights swirled, and the mambo went on and on.” Like so many of Brown’s biographies, such as Waiting for the Biblioburro (2011) and Side by Side/Lado a lado: The Story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez/La historia de Dolores Huerta y César Chávez (2009), Tito’s story introduces readers to a vibrant Latino figure. As a baby, Puente made music with pots and pans, and he later grew up to fulfill his dreams as a musician and beloved bandleader. Award-winning illustrator López brings Tito’s story to life in vibrant acrylic salsa reds and oranges, which are splashed behind every shake of Tito’s hips and wink of his eyes. The swirling, whirling compositions add to the text’s rhythmic beat. To continue the rumba after Tito’s story has ended, the last page of the book offers a simple melody to play on its own or alongside the book. An author’s note (in both English and Spanish) sheds more light on Puente’s life. Grades K-3. --Angie Zapata
From Kirkus ReviewBrown and López, who previously teamed for the award-winning My Name Is Celia (2004), collaborate anew in this energetic bilingual tribute to the salsa drummer and band leader extraordinaire.Brown’s narrative, simply phrased and peppered with exclamation points, takes her preschool and primary audience from Tito’s toddlerhood, banging “spoons and forks on pots and pans,” through childhood loves: drum lessons, dancing and stickball on the streets of Harlem. Bouncing through the musician’s adulthood, Brown highlights early gigs, a Navy stint (where he learned to play sax) and regular shows at the Palladium in New York City. Puente’s dream of heading his own band comes true in a single page turn (though López’s depiction of the now white-haired drummer does attest to time’s passage). A percussive refrain, fun to read and hear, pops up as part of the Spanish text but resonates in either language: “¡Tum Tica! / ¡Tac Tic! / ¡Tum Tic! / ¡Tom Tom!” López’s pictures, layered acrylics on prepared wooden boards, convey salsa’s rhythmic exuberance via a riotous palette that includes electric orange, chocolate brown, pale teal, and touches of pink and purple. Multihued swirls and plumes emanate from Tito’s timbales and drumsticks; Celia Cruz (a frequent collaborator) soars in a costume whose fuchsia feathers seem to morph from the sea green waves below.A vibrant, reverent celebration of the godfather of salsa. (biographical note; brief musical notation for rumba beat included in the text) (Bilingual picture book/biography. 4-8)
References:
Zapata, A. (n.d.). [Review of the book Tito Puente/Mambo King, by M. Brown]. Booklist. Retrieved from http://www.booklistonline.com/Tito-Puente-Mambo-King-Rey-del-Mambo-Monica-Brown/pid=5733875
Library Uses: I would use this book during Hispanic Heritage month and suggest it to my music and dual language teachers to use in their room. The book offers information that is helpful for the music teachers to use as a history lesson on Tito Puente and because it is in English and Spanish it offers a good lesson for duallanguage learners.
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