Hispanic/Latinx Literature Book Review

 Viva Frida 

1. Bibliography

Morales, Y. 2014. VIVA FRIDA.Ill by Tim O’Meara. New York, NY: Roaring Brook Press. ISBN 9781596436039

2. Plot Summary

With her pet animals Frida Kahlo starts as a playful young girl and is very aware of her surroundings. In her dreams she is able to fly and observe the dangers of the world. She is also able to care, love and be helpful. Through her pain she is able to create and live. 

3. Critical Analysis (Including Cultural Markers)

VIVA FRIDA is an extraordinary picture book that focuses on the famous historical Frida Kahlo. VIVA FRIDA is a short biography book that provides the readers with a small glimpse of the feelings and actions of the famous painter Frida Kahlo. The author does provide the reader with more historical context about Frida Kahlo at the end of the book. The last page’s text structure provides chronological facts about Frida Kahlo. For example, she was born in 1907 in Coyoacan, Mexico and died in 1954. The page also provides a glimpse of her struggles as a child and adult. The struggles that ultimately allowed her to express through paintings and sculptures. 

VIVA FRIDA provides many Hispanic culture markers. The culture makers are depicted in the illustrations and photographs of the book. The clothing worn by Frida Kahlo in the book depicts the traditional dresses worn by Mexican women. The rich colorful embroidered flowers and thread patterns in the dresses are also traditional in Mexican culture. In some of the illustrations, she is also wearing a “reboso” or a shawl. The color and patterns on the shawl are connected to Mexican culture. Another Hispanic culture marker is how her hair style is depicted in the book. For example, she has her hair in thick braids with a colorful flower crown.The jewelry that she is wearing can also be a Hispanic cultural marker.  In the illustrations Frida is wearing red beads, which can signify passion, love and strength. Frida is also wearing gold open hands earring, which can signify expression, connection or empathy or it can mean protection. In the illustrations Frida is also wearing the traditional white boots that women of that time would often wear. 

Another Hispanic culture marker are the actual doll-like illustrations, which depict Frida, the animals and Diego Rivera (her husband). The skin tone (tan or brown) used in the illustrations are typical of the Mexican people. Although some Mexican’s skin tone might vary from darker to lighter skin, the illustrations used in the figures are darker in tone. 

Another Hispanic culture marker are the folk art flags used in the book. The flags also called “papel picado” are commonly used in Mexican parties as a decoration. 

VIVA FRIDA also includes Spanish text, which is translated to English, which brings the richness of the Spanish language and monolingual students are able to understand the text. 

Another important note that needs to be mentioned is the significance of the doll-like animals in the book. Because Frida was a free spirited person the parrot is depicted.  Her curiosity and playfulness is depicted by the dog and monkey. The arrows and the wounded deer represent her struggles with polio and her broken body. Her paintings represent that she still lives within her paintings (VIVA FRIDA).

Overall the book is filled with rich illustrations that are authentic to Hispanic culture. The author was able to authentically depict the Mexican essence and give factual information about Frida Kahlo. 

4. Review Excerpts

Pura Belpre Award

Caldecott Honor Book

Horn Book: Photographs by Tim O'Meara. Morales initially shows Kahlo as a puppet: made from steel, polymer clay, and wool, three-dimensional figures are photographed and digitally manipulated inside double-page-spread collages. As we enter Kahlo's mind, the medium changes to lush acrylics. The illustrations are accompanied by just a few words of text in both Spanish and English that leave readers with a dreamlike impression. An ingenious tour de force.

Kirkus Review: Out of context, visually radiant; as an introduction to Kahlo herself, almost irrelevant . (Picture book. 3-6)

School Library Journal: Yuyi Morales's groundbreaking exploration of artist Frida Kahlo's journey to creative expression fails to make a graceful leap to video. For a viewer unfamiliar with the bilingual picture book (Roaring Brook, 2014), the production may seem like a disjointed jumble of Spanish and English phrases projected on a backdrop of indecipherable imagery accompanied by a Spanish guitar. While the text and illustrations are nicely married in the spreads of the printed edition, the video's animation and voice-over make following the poetic narrative arc challenging. Actress and voice artist Adriana Sananes narrates with spirit, but she can't overcome the stilted fragmentation between the Spanish and English phrases, alternately spoken and displayed on the screen. Morales's mixed-media illustrations (photography of puppets, acrylic paintings, and digital manipulation) are slightly animated, which adds visual interest. A bilingual bonus, the author's note, is easier to follow and more entertaining than the main feature. VERDICT This disc unfortunately does not bring new life to Morales's book but rather obfuscates it.

5. Connections

The Story of Frida Kahlo by Susan B. Katz

Teachers and librarians can do a reflection and practice activity after reading this book. Students identify an important person in their lives and write or illustrate a short biography of that person’s life.