Fiction - Animals, Foreign Language Study, Children - Fiction & Literature

Marcus Colors : Red, Yellow and Blue

Name: Marcus Colors : Red, Yellow and Blue
Author: Tomie de Paola
ISBN: 9780399240102

by Tomie de Paola

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Overview

Join Marcos, the adopted little brother of twins Morgie and Moffie, as he learns his colors and numbers. Moffie teaches Marcos to count from one ball to ten flowers for Mama in English, and Marcos repeats the numbers in Spanish-one ball is "uno"; two shoes are "dos." Morgie teaches Marcos colors, ending in a beautiful rainbow, and Marcos repeats them in Spanish-a red tomato is "rojo"; the blue sky is "azul." These simple, colorful board books are a fun way to explore basic concepts and learn elementary Spanish at the same time.

About the Author, Tomie de Paola

Tomie dePaola

Best known for his award-winning picture book Strega Nona and for the 26 Fairmount Avenue series of chapter books, Tomie dePaola is one of the most prolific -- and beloved -- author/illustrators in the field of children's literature.

Biography

Born in 1934 into a large extended Irish/Italian family, Tomie dePaola received his art education at Brooklyn's Pratt Institute and the California College of Arts & Crafts. Although he always wanted to create children's books, he spent several years applying his talents to the fields of education, theater, and graphic design. In the mid-1960s, he received his first commission to illustrate a children's science book. A year later, he published his first original picture book, The Wonderful Dragon of Timlin. Today, he is one of the most prolific -- and beloved -- author/illustrators in children's literature.

In addition to illustrating stories by other writers, DePaola has created artwork for collections of poetry, nursery rhymes, holiday traditions, and folk and religious tales. But, he is most famous for books of his own creation, especially Strega Nona ("Grandma Witch"), the beloved story of an old woman who uses her magical powers to help the people of her small Italian village. Written in 1975, this Caldecott Honor winner is still delighting children today.

DePaola admits that there are strong autobiographical elements in many of his books (Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs, The Art Lesson, Stagestruck), but nowhere is this more evident than in 26 Fairmount Avenue, a series of charming chapter books based on his Connecticut childhood. Taking its name from the address of his family home, the series captures the experiences and emotions of a young boy growing up in the late 1930s and early '40s in the shadow of World War II. The first book in the series received a 1999 Newbery Honor Award.

DePaola and his work have been recognized with many honors, including the Smithsonian Medal, the Kerlan Award for "singular attainment in children's literature," the Catholic Library Association's Regina Medal, and several awards from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. In 1999, the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts bestowed on dePaola the Lotte Jacobi Living Treasure Award for the body of his work.

Good To Know

Tomie dePaola's name is pronounced Tommy de POW-la.

Between college and graduate school, dePaola spent a short time in a Benedictine monastery before determining that religious life was not for him.

Using a combination of watercolor, tempera, and acrylic, dePaola's artistic style is best described as folk-traditional.

DePaola's favorite painters and strongest artistic influences are Matisse, Giotto, and Ben Shahn.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly

Tomie de Paola brings back the Barker Twins in two bilingual concept books, Marcos Counts and Marcos Colors. In the first title, the youngest Barker learns to count from one to 10 from Moffie, who presents the numbers in English while Marco repeats them in Spanish. They count everything from three-tres-rubber ducks to eight-ocho-crayons, until Marcos leaves and returns with 10 red roses for Mama. In Colors, Moffie's twin brother, Morgie, presents the colors that Marcos repeats in Spanish. The art depicts appropriate objects such as a pumpkin and a tabby cat in orange, or naranja. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

In a spin off from his Barker Twins series, DePaola has Morgie teaching Marcos the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown and black in Spanish and English. Items in every scene will help kids figure out the featured color as will the wide colored border on each page. The only part that may be difficult for non-Spanish speakers is pronouncing the words correctly, but not to fear there is a pronunciation guide printed on the back cover. DePaola's illustrations are crisp, bright and full of charm. If you enjoy this one then you will probably want the companion book Marcos Counts. 2003, Putnam/Penguin Putnam, Ages 2 to 5.
— Marilyn Courtot

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1-In each of these lovely board books, a puppy is instructed by an older twin sibling. In Colors, ballooned dialogue shows Marcos thinking the word for each color in Spanish, as his brother gives him the corresponding English word. The same format is followed in Counts, which shows the printed number as well as the numeral for the words the pup's sister teaches him. DePaola's signature watercolors, featuring bright clear hues on a clean white background, have tremendous charm and child appeal. For a younger audience than Bill Martin, Jr.'s Oso pardo, oso pardo, qu ves ah'? (Holt, 2002) or Ann Ricketts's Los diez gatitos (Brimax, 1995; o.p.), these are excellent choices for early foreign-language instruction or ESL students. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.