Dust-covered boxes, old and forgotten furniture, and discarded treasures intrigue a young boy exploring his grandfather’s garage. In the midst of this mine, he makes a discovery more fascinating than treasure: a guitar with a neck rising like a “black swan.”
When Tata opens the guitar case that once belonged to his tata, a wealth of musical memories entrance the boy as the sound of the guitar strings transform “musty moths into beautiful butterflies.” Tata tells the boy about the posadas at Christmas, birthday melodies and he even shares his memory of a special moonlight serenade.
As his fingers glide along the frets, Tata paints the boy a picture of a world long-past. And with his grandfather’s help, the boy will learn to create his own musical memories for generations to come.
This bright bilingual picture book about the magic of musical tradition will delight readers of all ages.
ETHRIAM CASH BRAMMER holds an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. A widely published poet, screenwriter and writer of fiction, he is also the translator of The Adventures of Don Chipote, or When Parrots Breast Feed and Lucas Guevara. This is his first bilingual picture book for children.
Illustrator DANIEL LECHÓN is a prize-winning artist whose works have been collected and exhibited in museums and galleries in the United States and Mexico. Lechón currently resides in Houston, Texas where he continues to produce fine works for exhibit and sale. He has illustrated two books for Piñata Books: The Desert is My Mother/El desierto es mi madre (Piñata Books, 1994) and The Gift of the Poinsettia/El regalo de la flor de Nochebuena (Piñata Books, 1995).
ATOS Interest Level: Lower Grades
Category: Picture Book
ATOS English: 3.3
ATOS Spanish: 3.3
Accelerated Reader Quiz #: 76299
