Breathtaking vistas and bustling scenes await a boy and his uncle when they ride the teleferico to the top of a mountain in Venezuela.
Up, up, up goes Roberto, aboard a cable car, heading to the top of El Avila. Share his excitement as he sees deep ravines and spectacular views, and meets the people and wildlife that live on the mountainside, on his first big adventure!
Preschool-Grade 2. A young kid’s exciting cable-car ride forms the drama in this lively picture book that is filled with the wonderful sights he sees on his journey in the sky. Roberto and his uncle ride the cable car to the top of El Ávela, the huge mountain overlooking Caracas in Venezuela. Suspended among the clouds, Roberto looks down and sees his barrio in the city and boats in the ocean that look tiny in the distance. At the top of the mountain, he walks on the steep hiking trails, sees mariposas (butterflies) among the wildflowers, and talks with fruit sellers, cleaners, and other workers, who remind him of his family. The text is sprinkled with Spanish words, which are explained in a long, appended glossary. Alarcão’s beautiful acrylic illustrations show that both the big panoramas and the close-up details of one butterfly and one bird are equally awe-inspiring. The writers are Katherine Paterson’s son and husband, who based the story on their own trip to Caracas in the 1970s.
Roberto is excited about his cable car trip up the mountain overlooking Caracas. He's not so happy that his father can't accompany him as planned, but luckily Uncle Antonio is able to come along. The text, though wordy, is warm-hearted; Spanish words are scattered throughout. Alarcao's illustrations provide sweeping views of the Caracas skyline. Glos.
An earnest, not entirely successful effort, this straightforward story details a visit to the top of Mt. Ávila, overlooking Caracas. Young Roberto has been promised the trip on the cable car as a reward for his hard work in school. Initially disappointed that his father can't take him as planned, Roberto easily adapts when his beloved uncle Antonio accompanies him instead. Their hike on the mountain is marred by the loss of Roberto's brand-new camera, but uncle and nephew are equally relieved that Roberto's misstep didn't have more serious consequences. Roberto's ingenuous enjoyment of the natural world is appealing, but the story suffers from a tendency to tell rather than show. Roberto's near fall, for example, lacks real tension. The casual inclusion of Spanish words into the text is a plus, but the narrative is overlong. Alarcão's acrylic paintings show a realistic, albeit somewhat simplified vision of people and places. While the illustrations add appeal, observant listeners will note that they often don't quite match the actions described. Sincere but substandard. (Picture book. 5-8)
K-Gr 2-Roberto's reward for good grades is a trip with his uncle up the teleferico, or cable car, to the mountains overlooking Caracas, Venezuela. Roberto had hoped to take pictures for his father, who has stayed behind tending the store, but he drops the camera down a ravine. The disappointed but resourceful lad then asks a vendor to take a snapshot so he can share his adventure with Papa after all. The text is primarily narrative, relating what happens to Roberto, and its direct prose makes it better suited to independent reading than to reading aloud. The book uses little figurative language, but a simile comparing cable cars to spaceships nicely conveys a child's sense of wonder in new experiences. The round, cheerful faces in the illustrations highlight the simple joys found in the text. Alarcao's heavy brushstrokes also evoke the mists that hang over the tropical rain forests of Venezuela's mountains. Spanish words are sprinkled throughout, and children can use contextual clues to guess their meanings (or use the glossary). However, the writers use many phrases that are more common in Mexico than in Venezuela, such as andale and peso. Moreover, the description of a tortilla fits the Mexican usage of this term, whereas in Venezuela the word tortilla is used to describe a fritatta. Although the book is a nice introduction to a relatively unfamiliar country, it does not accurately reflect Venezuelan Spanish.-Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.