I am a fourth grade teacher who recently read this book with my reading class. I chose it because it showed that an ordinary child was faced with a seemingly impossible challenge that he overcame with perseverance. Throughout the story, the children watched Tigre slowly take on more and more responsibilty and become successful at his tasks. Although some of the voacbulary was above them, they enjoyed watching the boy mature.

I teach sixth grade and use The Corn Grows Ripe in my classroom. I teach a unit on the Ancient Mayans. This book is a great teaching tool. Not only do the students learn about the customs and family life of the Ancient Maya, but they also learn some of the Spanish language as well. We create a Spanish dictionary while reading the book. Good easy-read for all levels of readers in your classroom.

Three generations of our family have used this book at bedtime and our current copy is taped together! A soothing, rhythmic book that talks about pussycats, kangeroos, wild things in the forest, sailboats and engines all getting quiet and sleepy. My grandson saves it as the last book to read and he falls asleep by the time we finish the little prayer at the end. A very special book indeed!

This is a wonderful book for any little train lover. However, the subtle correlations between the "bedroom" train and the "country" train are lost on my 3 year old right now. I love how Brown mirrors the toy train set-up in the household with the real train travelling through the countryside on the opposite page. The artwork is lovely, and the story is clear and simple. It's a nice, calming book, perfect for the end of the day.

My son is a train fanatic and enjoys this book very much. The comparisons between the real train and the toy train stimulate a lot of conversation and get him thinking about similarities and differences.

MY GRANDSON AGE 7 LOVES THIS BOOK HE HAS NOT PUT IT DOWN SINCE HE
RECEIVED IT AND WHAT ELSE IS NICE HE IS ABLE TO READ THE BOOOK TO
ME INSTEAD OF ME READING TO HIM

Secret of the Andes by Ann Nolan Clark is a marvelous children's novel which can be very important reading for children. The beautiful novel certainly earned its Newbery Medal.

The novel is the story of Cusi. He is an Inca boy who has been raised in a remote valley of the Andes mountain range by an old man, Chuto. Cusi is of royal Inca blood, but this is four hundred years after the Spanish conquest. Cusi has been raised in the traditional Inca manner. The plot of the novel concerns Cusi's search for himself. He has been raised without a "family" (at least in the traditional sense), and he is sent from the valley, with the companionship of his pet llama, to find his path in the world, a task that he sees as finding himself a family. The world Cusi goes into is one which is very different from the one he has been raised in because the Spanish culture has become predominant. Then, Cusi is forced to come to terms with his own way of life and with what his concept of "family" should be.

Secret of the Andes is an amazing book. I think that it can be extremely important in helping children to understand the view-point of Native Americans and helping them to understand Native American literature later in life. I also found that this novel was, in ways, similar to adult novels like Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. It aids in this understanding through a fairly simple story of a young, regular boy who can be related to. Ann Nolan Clark really created a masterpiece with Secret of the Andes.

Have you ever liked to know what it would be like to live in the Andes Mountains with a herd of llamas and an old man? This is a book about a young Incan boy whose name is Cusi and his heart's desire is to find his family.

If you like books about people with no family and people that have to travel to get them, than you will love this book!This book also has fairly easy content to understand so this book is for people 10 and older. Anyone younger than 10 the plot would probably be too complicated for.

At the beginging of this book there are two characters: Cusi and Chuto. They plan to go travel and get some salt but they can't leave their llamas, soon a minstral comes and watches their flock for them so Chuto and Cusi start off. During the journey he meets some families and a feeling of yearning to be like them overcomes Cusi.

Before embarking on his path to find his family his llama Misti leads him to a part of his vally he has never seen before. There he finds something that aids him in his search for his family. The last thing Chuto tells him before he leaves is "Greave not if your searching circles" and Cusi was off.

In all, Secret of the Andes is about a boy who has to struggle to find his family where ever it might take him.

Ann Nolan Clark's perception of places and people, and her respect for other cultures, comes through clearly in this short novel of traditions and changes in Peru.

Far ahead of today's push for diversity in school books, the book explores life themes such as the importance of family, traditions, caring for others, respecting elders, etc. Ann's genius is that she sets these themes inside the larger theme of life choices for a young boy, in a different land.

I started reading it aloud on a camping trip, the voices of the Peruvian past with its unique scents and sounds filling the tent and delighting all who listened, from the very young to the "oldsters" in the group. It is Ann's rich command of language that sets the tone of the book. It is her knowledge of the People that enriches the story. It is her striving to make the book culturally rich as well as challenging that keeps the reader (or listeners) engaged. I wish we had more books like this one in our school and home libraries.

I read a statement by Mrs. Clark once, to the effect that she always included words below and above the intended reader's level, so they would s-t-r-e-t-c-h their abilities and grow as a reader. I first read the book as a 4th grader years ago and it was a delight to revisit it. I would think that anyone at a 4th grade level could sound out the unfamiliar words, as they follow the usual rules of phonetics.

By the way, I read it aloud to my 6-7-8 combination reading class last year for listening comprehension lessons, and they couldn't wait for the next part of the story!

As far as exciting reading goes this book is for the most part not that entertaining. However, it is memorable in that it goes inside the mind of one of the great Mexican artists of the twentieth century. The intimacy revealed in the letters is a perfect way to get a feel for the concerns and issues confronting Orozco at this particualr juncture in his life. It also is a good way to get a sense of the times both in the Unites Staes and Mexico. The letters are those written to his good friend, Jean Charlot, who supported his works throughtout his life. The book, or shall we say, the letters, reveal Orozco's thoughts on the art scene in New York, his relationships with the art world and in general, his day to day existence concerns. When a great artist has passed and we are left with their works we tend to see the greatness and forget the hardships endured to produce such monumental achievemets. His small apartment, really nothing more than a studio, foreign diet and living in a huge city as a relatively unknown artist would be enough to break most men. Thus was not the case with Orozco who was coming from Mexico dejected over his lack of mural commisions. Upon returning to New york where he previously had over one hundred watercolors confiscated by immigration for "lewdness" was heroic, brave and admirable. He went on to create some his most important mural works in the United States. A man of immense talent and courage is revealed in his letters in spite of the hardships. A realtively easy read, the book comes complete with black and white drawings and pictures of his murals that do not give justice to his supreme use of color. These leters from 1925-29 are a good reference point for you if you are an art student or studyng the life of Jose Clemente Orozco. A drawback is that the letters are only his and not Jean Charlot's responses. A plus is the inclusion of several hand written Spanish letters on the opposite page of the translations which add to the authenticity. Also included are three former unpublished writtings.Recommended for the art student who is looking for primary sources.

I think this book was so boring! I also think that the summary on the back of the book was a lie. He did not have "devasting" consquences. Please! I mean, you tell me what was so "devasting". I'm all ears. This book was so boring. Who wants to hear about how you brand sheep? Uh, no one! This book all most put me to sleep. El boringo.

Miguel at 12 desperately wants to take his place among the Menfolk of his family, by proving to his father that he is mature enough to be one of the regular hands. For years he has dreamed of accompanying the Chavez men on their annual summer trek up into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains with their large flock of sheep. Despite his zeal, creativity and real help with the family business, Miguel seems condemned to spend yet another summer at home with the girls.

When the entire village near Taos, New Mexico, turns out to celebrate the feast day of San Ysidro, their local patron, Miguel decides to petition the saint in a touchingly humorous (almost letter like) prayer. He takes it for granted that his wish will be granted, but soon is shocked to discover the harsh conditions. He never meant for his beloved brother, Gabriel, to have to leave home for two years in the military. Is there any way he can take back his wish? This leads to a long, soul-searching discussion on the

efficacy of prayer, the power and limitations of saints, and great fraternal quality time.

This story will apppeal more to boys seeking macho experience, for the role of females is relegated to the superficial. Still the book provides warm, family interactions. Narrated in the first person by Miguel himself, the book reveals the coming-of-age struggle and dreams of a Mexican-American youth. Readers will discover wry humor, simple faith, bi-lingual slang, and uneven pacing. Krumgold indulges in great detail about the sheep raising business, as Miguel blunders his way into adulthood. Wonderful descriptions of the mountains which have been calling him for years.

This Newberry Award winner is a classic that may best be appreciated by readers with patience for a slower lifestyle. This is not for action-adventure junkies waiting for a roller coaster ride of thrills and suspense. I enjoyed this book because I am familiar with the setting in Northern New Mexico around Taos, which is well described in the book. For hundreds of years ranch owners have sent their shepherds and sheep to the green grazing fields in the local mountains during the summer months. The desire to go to the mountains with the sheep would have been a common personal conflict with older children. As a work of realistic fiction, it portrays a real lifestyle with real dreams and conflicts in a time and place before our modern technology, noise, and adrenaline surges of a rushed, stressed based lifestyle. This book is for the sophisticated reader who is looking for a good story in a work of historical fiction.

My 2 year old's library now exceeds 150 books of all shapes, sizes and styles, but I can safely say this is the one book I **won't** be adding to her book shelves. Although the concept is good (a book to read in the morning) and the text is also good, the illustrations are most certainly not appropriate for a child's book. Taken by themselves, they are interesting as "art", but their color and style don't fit with a children's book. My daughter can identify most farm and zoo animals known to man, but she was stumped by every picture in this book. The goats appeared to have lay drying in the desert for a few weeks before posing for the book (I am not joking, they do look dead), the bees look like butterflies, the horses look like statues from a modern artist, the birds look like airplanes, the color on the children's faces makes them look as though they were ill or the lighting is bad in the room.

Life is confusing enough for a young child without having to wake up to face a book that twists the colors and shapes of familiar objects to such an extent that they are no longer recognizable to the young mind.

As far as good morning reading is concerned, I've had good luck just reading "goodnight moon" from back to front, substituting the words "goodmorning sun". My daughter thinks this is funny. Other suggestions would be "activity" books such as those in the "Maisy" series, or funny books such as those in the "Sheep" series (Sheep in a Jeep, Sheep in a Shop, etc).

When our baby received books as gifts, 75% of them were bedtime oriented. I wanted to read to her in the mornings when she was most alert. The book shows how all the animals and plants wake up when the sun rises. The text is simple, but not boring. Though she is only a few months old, our baby responds well to the contrasting colors (mostly orangey-reds and greens). Because they are portrayed as sleeping huddled together, the bunnies and sheep are hard to discern, though. This book offers a brightly illustrated choice to parents and children who want to wake up to books.