This book describes Armando's childhood in a poor Mexican colonia and the man who brings education and art to the community. Based on a true story, the text sprinkled with Spanish vocabulary is instructive but wordy. Distinctive illustrations outlined in white give the pictures dimension. Photographs of the children in a colonia are appended. Glos.

This affecting tale--of a plein-air schoolroom in a deeply impoverished neighborhood populated by pepenadores (trash pickers)--springs from the real deal. Fine and Josephson have taken the story of David Lynch, who first went to Mexico in 1980 to teach children living in the Tijuana city dump, and fashioned it into a picture book. Fictional, yes, but only marginally so. Their story pivots around Armando, who scours the dump with his father all day long for anything of worth, and his thirst to join the classroom: a blue tarp on the bare ground. Though Armando's income is vital to the family, his parents come to understand that only an education will allow him to eclipse pepenadore life. The simplicity of the story is what lets it run deep, its bite of realism; no sermons are being delivered here, just a door thrown open to life under reduced circumstances (though Sosa's artwork, with its look of leaded glass, conveys a benevolent quality to the proceedings). Without patronizing, Se-or David defines the essence of humanitarianism, while the pepenadores, ever searching for beauty in the beast, find gold--and prize it. (Picture book. 5-9)

Young Armando longs to be a regular student at the makeshift school that Se¤or David, an American, sets up on a blue tarp near the Tijuana dump. While his family needs his help with scavenging at the dump, his parents eventually allow him to spend his afternoons learning to read English and Spanish. Then a fire destroys much of the neighborhood, and a drawing by Armando is printed in the newspaper, inspiring a woman to donate money to build a real school. Loosely based on David Lynch's 27 years of devotion to the children of Tijuana, this is a straightforward story that captures the warmth of the adults and the enthusiasm of the children for their unconventional school. Figures in the illustrations have an unusual double outline that makes them appear collaged. Vibrant watercolors and good-natured faces help keep the story from being bleak. Young readers will have no idea where the book is set without reading a lengthy author's note, but they will be touched by this gentle account of hardship overcome by perseverance. Recommended. Jan Aldrich Solow, Library Media Specialist, A. Scott Crossfield Elementary School, Herndon, Virginia

Gr 1-4-Armando and his family live in a colonia near the Tiajuana city dump. Like most of their neighbors, they eke out a meager living by hunting through the mounds of foul-smelling garbage for anything they can use or sell. Then Se-or David arrives, spreads a blue tarp on the ground, and sets up a school. At first the boy's parents are reluctant to let him attend because they need him to work for the family, but eventually they realize that this school could lead to a better life for their son. An extensive author's note explains that Se-or David is based on David Lynch, a former special-education teacher who has devoted 27 years to teaching children like Armando in a similar colonia. The well-written text will be an eye-opener for children who take school for granted, and Sosa's masking fluid, watercolor, and ink illustrations, while offering little variety in facial expression, accurately depict the environment.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.