My Little Car: Mi Carrito

Soto, Gary, and Pamela Paparone. My little car = Mi carrito. New York: G.P. Putnam's, 2006.

Plot Summary:

Teresa is tired of riding her tricycle, as she thinks it’s a baby’s ride. On her birthday, Teresa is surprised when her grandparents send her very first low rider in the mail.  Teresa is proud of her new car, and she even wins a prize for it. Eventually, she begins neglecting her car, and it becomes old, sticky, and crooked. But, with the help of her grandfather, the car eventually looks even better than the day she received it.

Critical Analysis:

My Little Car: Mi Carrito by Gary Soto is a picture book for children with a heavy emphasis on Mexican American culture. Teresa, the young girl in the story, receives a low rider pedal car for her birthday. Low rider cars are often seen in Chicano culture, and the story indicates that having this type of car is something of which to be proud. Other Chicano cultural markers can be found in the characters’ clothing, including bandanas, flashy jewelry, and cowboy boots. Religious symbols, particularly Catholic, are included in Pam Paparone’s illustrations. Along the way, readers have the opportunity to learn many Spanish words, including carrito (car), bailar (dance), hijole (wow), and abuelito (grandfather).  The Spanish words are well incorporated into the text, and can be understood easily by using contextual clues.

Pam Paparone’s acrylic illustrations are accurate, but not stereotypical. The bright illustrations bring emotion to the pages. While the culture is well received in through the text of the story, the illustrations complete the picture book. By the end of this story, Teresa learns the importance of being responsible and comes to appreciate the ownership of her low rider. Young readers will enjoy the text read aloud or independently. This book provides a great example of an authentic, non-stereotypical picture book for children with an emphasis on Mexican-American culture.

Reviews:

Booklist:

Earnest, scrupulously politically correct storytelling has never been Soto's style: Chato's Kitchen (1994) inked at pachuco cliche and, to many readers' delight, slipped barrio slang into the hallowed precincts of a picture book. Here, Soto addresses young children, transplanting another oft-caricatured element of Chicano culture--the lowrider--into a tale featuring a toy pedal-car and a little girl (in a wonderful reversal of the usual machismo surrounding vehicles). The story line meanders a bit and is a little preachy, involving a lesson in taking responsibility for prized possessions. But the exuberant blend of English and Spanish (a glossary at the front of the book clarifies expressions such as hijole! and mi'ija) gives the narrative a needed boost, and kids who call the barrio home will love finding reflections of their own communities in Paparone's affectionate, stylized acrylic paintings: a Mexican flag flutters from a child's tricycle, a bodega advertises pollo fresco. For children unfamiliar with Chicano culture, offer this alongside alternative perspectives that can prevent the lowrider emphasis (especially problematic in one image of a grown-up slouching at the window of his showy pink lowrider) from perpetuating stereotypes. Don't be surprised, though, if the story of the shiny, child-sized hot rod and its hapless owner pleases audiences far more than titles that more piously press the multicultural buttons.

Kirkus:

Mexican-American first-grader Teresa feels too old for her tricycle, and she's overjoyed when her Grandpa Benny sends her a pedal-powered low-rider with personalized plates and flame decals. She proudly drives it through the neighborhood and "makes it dance" for the kids at the playground. But Teresa leaves it out in the rain and doesn't keep it clean. Her father nearly backs over it. Then, despite its dilapidated state, the little car saves her from a scary dog and she decides to fix it up. Grandpa Benny stops by to see the car, but doesn't recognize it; he says it looks older than him. Teresa assures him he's not old and they fix the car up together. She even lets her little sister Pumpkin sit in it, as they attach "chile" headlamps. The simple story, peppered with Spanish words-explained textually and in the glossary at the front-is well told and never didactic. Paparone's bright, acrylic illustrations bring Tomie dePaola's work to mind; they're a perfect match for the text. A multicultural lesson with lots of zip.

Awards:

Americas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, 2007 Commended United States

Connections:

Use this book to teach about responsibility and ownership. The book makes for a great read-aloud, and children have the opportunity to learn several Spanish words along the way.

Check out the following picture books also about Mexican Americans....

Anaya, Rudolfo A., and Edward Gonzales. The farolitos of Christmas. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1995.

Bertrand, Diane Gonzales. . Houston, Tex.: Piñata Books, 2003.

My diary from here to there. San Francisco: Children's Book Press, 2002.

Soto, Gary, and Ed. Martinez. Too many tamales. New York: Putnam, 1993.

Tafolla, Carman. What Can You Do With a Rebozo?/ Que puede hacer con un rebozo?. Berkeley: Paw Prints, 2009.