Count Me In!: A Parade of Mexican Folk Art Numbers in English and Spanish (review)

Following up on Opuestos: Mexican Folk Art Opposites in English and Spanish (BCCB 10/09), Weill returns with another joyous celebration of Mexican folk art, piggybacked here on a counting-book theme. This time the featured craftsmen are a quartet of Oaxacan sisters who specialize in clay figures, creating a full cast of dancers, musicians, and costumed performers to march in the annual summer Guelaguetza parades, an indigenous cultural event in Mexico. Bilingual text covers the numbers from one to ten, but also comments on the role of each set of figures. "Two. Dos. Cover your ears! The fireworks are loud! ¡Tapate los oidos! ¡Los cohetes hacen mucho ruido!" Four tiny heads emerge from the bellies of the giant costumes they carry through the streets; five men and women raise their lanterns on long sticks; six dancers balance baskets of flowers on their heads. Though it offers little information about the Guelaguetza celebration itself (especially the recent controversies surrounding its commercialization) save the fine-print directive on the jacket flap to consult Weill's website, as a concept book and a bilingual introduction, this works splendidly. Young readers are likely to accept the colorful parade at face value and enjoy comparing the English and Spanish texts.