What Can You do with a Rebozo? by Carmen Tafolla

Tafolla, C.  (2008).  What Can You do with a Rebozo?  New York:  Tricycle Press.  Unpaged, $14.99.  Illustrated by Amy Cordova.

What can you do with a rebozo?  Anything!  Just use your imagination!  The title of this book refers to the many things you can do with a rebozo, a Mexican woven shawl.

In this book, a little girl tells about the many things you can do with a Mexican woven shawl, a rebozo.  Her mom wears it to accessorize her dress and makes it into a cradle to wrap her baby brother.  Her older sister twirls it into her hair while her grandmother uses it as a blanket on cold nights.  Her uncle even uses one to clean up spills, and her dad helps clean it to make it as good as new.  It can be used as a blindfold to cover the children's eyes when they're breaking a pinata, or use it to make a tunnel, or use it as a cape.  There are several things that you can do with a rebozo.  You're limited only by your imagination!

This was a cute book.  It showed how a little girl and her family have serveral uses for a rebozo and how they can use it for both practical and fun purposes.  It reminded me of rebozos that my family has and of different things that we do, not just with a rebozo, but as a family as we celebrate each other, holidays, and being together.  The bright, vibrant pictures nicely complement the text and both show different aspects of the Mexican culture.  Something else that I thought was nice about this book is that it has the story in Spanish alongside the English version.  I think anyone will enjoy this book and will be reminded of their own culture and what they do with items that are seemingly only meant for certain things but with a little imagination can be used for other things.

This is a Pura Belpre Honor Book.  To learn more about Carmen Tafolla, the author, visit http://www.carmentafolla.com/.  she also wrote What Can You do with a Paleta? and That's Not Fair:  Emma Tenayuca's Struggle for Justice.  Learn about the illustrator, Amy Cordova, at http://santeros.nmsu.edu/about/cordova.html.  She also illustrated The First Tortilla and Dream Carver.



Carmen Tafolla, the author



The illustrator, Amy Cordova