A Is For the Americas

A Is For the Americas
by Cynthia Chin-Lee and Terri de la Peña (1999)

           This book covers information about the Americas from the arctic circle down to the southern tip of Argentina. The book covers topics A-Z about food, sports, languages, religion, animals, and more. Ch, ll and ñ are included in the final page of the book, representing the letters from the Spanish alphabet -- I wish they had been integrated into the main portion of the book as I feel English- and Spanish-speaking students would appreciate learning or recognizing where the letters actually are in the alphabet. This book could then easily be used as an introduction to pronunciation of the alphabet in Spanish for young students learning basic Spanish. The descriptions of the letters include a lot of information that extend beyond the single word. For example, P for posada includes information on the Christmas celebration in Mexico and festivities like breaking a piñata. The paintings by Enrique Sánchez embody myths, places, and animals with equally colorful and informative images, regardless of the part of the Americas they represent.
           As mentioned above this book could be used as an introduction to the Spanish language alphabet. But better yet I think this book could be used as part of an introduction to the variety of peoples in the Americas. The book begins discussing the different languages spoken in different countries in North, Central, and South America and discusses how there were hundreds of native languages at the time of European exploration. It could be discussed how traditions are maintained -- and although many groups in the Americas lost their original languages they still maintain ancient traditions or have adopted some traditions from the groups who colonized the shores. Since the book is so great in scope it would have to be an introduction for a social studies unit, where students could take concepts mentioned in A Is For the Americas and research them in greater detail. This book is probably not a good introductory book for primary grades because of the number of foreign words and the heavy amount of text, but seems like a good fit for intermediate or upper students, depending on the unit.