Summary: A young flower girl named Maya takes readers on a journey through the events of Isabel and Rafael's wedding. The young couple have a beautiful church ceremony as family and friends look on at the heart-felt service. The wedding moves on to the reception where guests have a fabulous time. The guests are treated to a mariachi band and plenty of delicious wedding cake dripping with frosting. After feasting on food and having fun dancing the night away, the guests leave happy and tired, especially young Maya. Tired little Maya falls asleep on the car ride home.
Citation:
Soto, G. (1997). Snapshots from the wedding. G.P. Putnam's Sons.
My Impression:
This is a beautiful story with darling illustrations made of clay. Maya has a fabulous time at the wedding as the "snapshots" clearly show. Readers will enjoy the details that help tell Maya's wonderful story. The only questionable aspect of the book is the mention of beer at the reception. It is unclear what Soto's decision was to include that in a story for very young children. I do not think it added anything to the story, but definitely detracted from its loveliness
.
Professional Reviews:
"Photographs of shadowboxes filled with sculpted clay figures form the eye-catching art for Soto's ""diary"" of Maya, a flower girl. The text, sprinkled with Spanish words, is eloquent and funny (a bride's hands are ""soft as doves""; a cousin wiggles his tongue ""in the space between his baby teeth, white as Chiclets"")-and it deftly captures the flavor of a Latino wedding, complete with mariachi band. Garcia's singular, deliciously creative artwork steals the show here, however. More playful than the dioramas she composed for The Old Lady and the Birds, these lifelike, three-dimensional scenes serve as an elaborate stage set. Readers will be enthralled by Garcia's use of details, from the ""actors"" and ""actresses"" decked out in wedding finery to the garlanded ribbons festooned across the shadowboxes to the objects that enhance each scene (tiny silk flowers in the bride's bouquet; potato chips on the buffet table). Using Soto's words as a springboard, Garcia tweaks the perspective, offering a legs-and-feet-only view, for instance, of a scene in which Maya describes the younger wedding guests' ""shoes off"" romp down the hallway (complete with authentically dusty soles of socks). Another ""snapshot"" shows a pair of sculpted hands holding a plate with a flower-topped slice of wedding cake. A happy marriage of talents. Ages 4-8."
Publishers Weekly. (1997, January 21). [Review of the book Snapshots from
the wedding, by G. Soto]. Retrieved from http://www.publishers
weekly.com
Kirkus Review
"From Soto (Off and Running, 1996, etc.), a celebratory, child's-eye look at a wedding that captures the traditional mingling of the surreal and the sublime. A flower girl, Maya, tells in a pitch-perfect accent about the groom, Rafael, who is at the altar with his arm in a cast (he slid into home playing softball and scored, but broke his wrist), and a host of other relatives and strangers. Crying babies, the altar boy's dirty sneakers, an inconvenient sneeze, and the glow in the bride Isabel's eyes are reported with equal fervor. At the reception, Maya puts a pitted olive on each finger, finds mole sauce on her gown, and dances, riding on her father's feet. While the family is Mexican-American, the wedding's touching and silly moments are universal. Garcia's illustrations, photographs of Sculpy clay figures and collage, are pink and white and delicious, reminiscent of both reredos and scenes from a dollhouse. With all the problem books in the world, it's a delight to encounter one that talks about a happy event and its attendant joys. This is a triumph of true-to-life storytelling, with all the good parts left in. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)"
Kirkus Reviews. (1997, February 1). [Review of the book Snapshots from the
wedding, by G. Soto]. Retrieved from http://www.kirkusreviews.com
Uses within the Library:
1. Book Report Sandwich: Give the students copied sheets of a tomato, cheese, lettuce, mayonnaise and ham. Students will cut out the parts of their "sandwich" and write events in order for their book report. Then students will build their "sandwich" for others to see. Find a special place to display their book reports in the library.
2. Readers Bingo: Choose reading words from the story that support students' classroom curriculum. Use these 25-30 words to create one Bingo card per student. Play Bingo to allow students to increase their reading vocabulary.
Book Cover: Book cover courtesy of the Mansfield Public Library.
Retrieved from http://www.mansfield-tx.gov/departments/library/
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