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The Pi?ta Maker / El Pi?tero (Bilingual Edition) by Ancona, George (1994) Hardcover
Told in both English and Spanish by award-winning author-photographer George Ancona, The Piñata Maker/El piñatero documents this traditional Latin American artform and includes a note on how to make piñatas at home. “A delightful introduction to the subject and a memorable glimpse of one Mexican village and its people.”--Booklist
Hardcover
First published March 1, 1994
4 people are currently reading
85 people want to read
About the author
George Ancona
131 books6 followersGeorge Ancona was an author and photographer who has published more that one hundred books, some of them bilingual. He was known for his exquisite photography and close-up looks at a variety of cultural subjects. He lived in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
March 7, 2012
'The Pinata Maker/El Pinatero' is a great book that highlights the Latin American art and tradition of making pinatas. The author narrarates the story of Don Ricardo, the pinata maker. The book contains full color photos of Don Ricardo, his pinatas and the process of making pinatas.
The book follows a somewhat cohesive storyline where a young Mexican boy named Beto takes old newspapers and brown paper cement bags to Don Ricardo, as these are the materials he uses to make his famous pinatas. The book, then, follows the process of making a pinata as it shows photos of Don Ricardo making the different parts of a swan pinata. Don Ricardo also makes huge puppets that can be worn by putting them over the heads of young boys. These puppets are part of a Mexican tradition and are typically used at parties where the boys wearing these puppets dance around to the music being played.
The book is presented in bilingual text (Spanish and English) and can be a great resource for exposing students to Mexican culture, traditions, and values. It can also be used as a fun read and might interest students that are looking to read something "different". This book is appropriate for grades 2-4.
The book follows a somewhat cohesive storyline where a young Mexican boy named Beto takes old newspapers and brown paper cement bags to Don Ricardo, as these are the materials he uses to make his famous pinatas. The book, then, follows the process of making a pinata as it shows photos of Don Ricardo making the different parts of a swan pinata. Don Ricardo also makes huge puppets that can be worn by putting them over the heads of young boys. These puppets are part of a Mexican tradition and are typically used at parties where the boys wearing these puppets dance around to the music being played.
The book is presented in bilingual text (Spanish and English) and can be a great resource for exposing students to Mexican culture, traditions, and values. It can also be used as a fun read and might interest students that are looking to read something "different". This book is appropriate for grades 2-4.
January 17, 2013
Author: George Ancona
Recommended Ages: 5th grade
Don Ricardo a.k.a Tio Rico makes pinatas for a living. He used to make sombreros but became to old for it. He now makes pinatas for birthday parties, Christmas and festivities. The book goes over how Don Ricardo goes about making the pinatas, the process and so forth. Don Ricardo also makes puppets for any kind of festivity. I enjoyed reading this book because in my culture, pinatas are used in all birthday parties. Pinatas are not as easy to make as they look, and I liked the way the book described the process of making the pinata and how it introduced Don Ricardo's customers. What really impressed me, was that the book was written in both English and Spanish. The teacher can read the book to her students in both languages if she/he wishes to. I thought that was very exciting.
Recommended Ages: 5th grade
Don Ricardo a.k.a Tio Rico makes pinatas for a living. He used to make sombreros but became to old for it. He now makes pinatas for birthday parties, Christmas and festivities. The book goes over how Don Ricardo goes about making the pinatas, the process and so forth. Don Ricardo also makes puppets for any kind of festivity. I enjoyed reading this book because in my culture, pinatas are used in all birthday parties. Pinatas are not as easy to make as they look, and I liked the way the book described the process of making the pinata and how it introduced Don Ricardo's customers. What really impressed me, was that the book was written in both English and Spanish. The teacher can read the book to her students in both languages if she/he wishes to. I thought that was very exciting.
November 19, 2012
Grade/interest level: 3rd-5th
Reading level: 930L
Genre: Information text
Main characters: the pinata maker
Setting: Mexico
POV: Narrator
Summary:
This book was kind of written like a story, but was mostly about the piñata maker and the steps he takes for making every piñata. In the book we get to see the piñata maker make first a swan piñata and then a star piñata. We learn what a piñata is made of: newspaper, crepe paper, paste, etc. We also learn about traditional items piñatas are filled with. In Mexico, piñatas are typically filled with fruit, small toys, and candies. We see a young girl select the star piñata for her party. The piñata maker is typically invited to attend the parties of those who purchase one of his piñatas. The piñata maker also makes masks for festivities in Mexico. This book even includes how to make a piñata at home.
Class use:
I used this book in my 4th grade classroom during Hispanic Heritage month. They thought it was pretty interesting. This book was chosen because the students had only been read more lively biographies about Celia Cruz and Jaime Escalante. This was a different type of biography for the students to hear. This book is also written in Spanish and English on each page.
Reading level: 930L
Genre: Information text
Main characters: the pinata maker
Setting: Mexico
POV: Narrator
Summary:
This book was kind of written like a story, but was mostly about the piñata maker and the steps he takes for making every piñata. In the book we get to see the piñata maker make first a swan piñata and then a star piñata. We learn what a piñata is made of: newspaper, crepe paper, paste, etc. We also learn about traditional items piñatas are filled with. In Mexico, piñatas are typically filled with fruit, small toys, and candies. We see a young girl select the star piñata for her party. The piñata maker is typically invited to attend the parties of those who purchase one of his piñatas. The piñata maker also makes masks for festivities in Mexico. This book even includes how to make a piñata at home.
Class use:
I used this book in my 4th grade classroom during Hispanic Heritage month. They thought it was pretty interesting. This book was chosen because the students had only been read more lively biographies about Celia Cruz and Jaime Escalante. This was a different type of biography for the students to hear. This book is also written in Spanish and English on each page.
May 19, 2009
The large colorful photographs in this book (of real life people and the steps involved in building a pinata) demonstrate the beauty of this Latin American art and tradition. The "pinata maker" is a man named Don Ricardo who lives and works in a village in southern Mexico. His story is told in both English and Spanish, documenting a sort of "life in the day" of this skilled and artistic man, as he makes his pinatas and interacts with the people of his community. I will keep this book in mind for future multicultural events where I would like to have a focus on Latin American cultures, because I think it explains this cultural tradition is a beautiful way.
July 17, 2016
While this ended up being far too long for the age range I reach in storytime, I thought the true story represented here was wonderful. Great photographs and a wonderful celebration of culture. However, the bilingual element was poorly presented. By this I mean that it was tough to quickly find the correct language in which you are reading, as they move around the page and simply having the starting letter a different color was not enough for me. I realized several times that I was reading in the "wrong" language, making this impossible to do effectively as a read-aloud without extensive practice.
March 10, 2011
The Pinata Maker or El Pinatero is a true story about a 77 year old man by the name of Don Ricardo. Our story takes place in a small poor town in Southern Mexico. Don Ricardo has been making pinatas for children in the village for the past 15 years. He also makes magical puppets, and masks. This story is about the process Don Ricardo goes through to create a pinata. He is a very popular man in the village and gets invited to all the parties too. Don Ricardo brings so much happiness to the children in the village with his talent.
April 27, 2012
The Piñata Maker or El Pinatero by George Ancona is a story about a 77 year old man named Don Ricardo. This bilingual book describes to the reader how Don Ricardo crafts piñatas in Southern Mexico. Ancona also includes very colorful illustrations which could fascinate many young readers. Overall, I believe that this is definitely a well written book that I would recommend to teachers interested in teaching about the genre of informational books.
Read
April 10, 2011This is an informational book about Pinatas. Most children can make connections to pinatas. This book can be used to look at the history of pinatas and the culture they started in. This would be a great book for a research study.
Read
July 24, 2010Interesting story that offers a glimpse into a different culture, time, and place. It offers scenes from a community where this El Pinatero played a crucial part in society.
January 8, 2011
This is a great beginner book for pinata making. Not a lot in the way of instructions, but definitely a good read for ideas.
February 1, 2011
Neat! I had no clue that real pinatas were made from actual clay pots! So much more fun than plain paper mache ones!
June 18, 2012
Fantastic Latin artwork! Even includes piñata directions for kids. A variety of teaching ideas could come from this book, beyond art history alone!
November 12, 2015
Alissa wants a pinata for her birthday.
October 18, 2016
Written in English and Spanish! Neat look at a day in the life of a pinata maker. It's definitely going to amp up my kiddos for our pinata art project...
March 20, 2018
This book is written in English and in Spanish and I really enjoyed seeing the actual illustrations of the piñata maker. I also enjoyed learning how piñata's are traditionally made.
April 26, 2019
This is a story about a beloved neighborhood Pinata Maker and his involvement in the community.
Trait: Ideas
Reading Level:
AR: 5.1
DRA: 51
Trait: Ideas
Reading Level:
AR: 5.1
DRA: 51
May 4, 2021
George Ancona tells this story in both English and Spanish. The book documents the traditional Latin American artform and teaches how to make piñatas at home.
six traits: presentation
guided reading level: O
lex: 650L
six traits: presentation
guided reading level: O
lex: 650L
June 30, 2025
This a really cool book about the art of pinata making. I have searched online multiple times for good instructions on how to make a pinata and I can never find much, yet this simple book gave me so much information on this fun folk tradition.
August 4, 2015
Colorful photos show us life in this man's village, how and why he makes pinatas. I like this book because it clearly shows that the pleasure this man gets from making pinatas is passed on to others. It's a non-fiction book book - a how to book - however, it highlights how 'work' can make us happy, how our work can help or bring joy to others, and the value of arts and crafts.
The added bonus is it's bilingual and it's short enough to read to a class in one sitting. Could easily be used for arts, language or culture/social studies curriculum.
The added bonus is it's bilingual and it's short enough to read to a class in one sitting. Could easily be used for arts, language or culture/social studies curriculum.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews