Book Review- Barrio: Jose’s Neighborhood

Ancona, George. Barrio: Jose’s Neighborhood. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1998

The first book I read is called Barrio: Jose’s Neighborhood. Jose is a young boy living in a Latino neighborhood in San Francisco. The neighborhood is full of immigrants from Mexico and they refer to their neighborhood as El barrio. The text discusses Jose’s everyday life and the customs and traditions that live on in his neighborhood. This book gives children an insight on neighborhoods that are, perhaps, quite different from theirs. They learn about Jose’s family and his school routine. They learn about his town and the food that the Latino people eat. It is a picture book full of real pictures and real insight into a Latino community. The author of this text followed Jose around in order to write his story and he is a resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico. I believe that this is a very beneficial book to share with children because it narrates the everyday life of a boy living in a Latino community.