Pablo Taco
Author: Mike Sandifer
Genre: Childrens Inspirational
Length: 24 pages
Release Date: February 8, 2015
ISBN-13: 978-1507743577
Book Description:
Pablo Taco is an
inspirational short story developed to combat the reality of prejudice. When Pablo
Taco meets Hamburger Dan, he does not understand why anyone would not want to
play together just because they are different from each other.
Buy Links:
Kindle US ¦ Kindle UK ¦ Paperback ¦ Book Page ¦ Google Play ¦ Smashwords
Buy Links:
Kindle US ¦ Kindle UK ¦ Paperback ¦ Book Page ¦ Google Play ¦ Smashwords
MY REVIEW:
This is a charming and enjoyable book. It's Pablo Taco's first day of school and like most kids on their first day of school, he has no friends, so on his own initiative, he goes about trying to make some friends. It is clear from page one that this book has an important message about one of life's meaningful topics: prejudice.
The lesson:
Don't be limited by social stereotypes. Difference is not something to be shunned for but rather something to be proud of.
The book has a great message about accepting each other dispite the fact of our differences. Like Pablo Taco, kids are easy and vulnerable targets to instill prejudices upon but they are also the part of society more willing to accept differences as they haven't quite established their individuality. I thought the book handled the subject matter effectively to the extent that Pablo Taco and Hamburger Dan stuck by each other when they came under attack, but I felt it didn't completely resolve the issues brought on by prejudices in a way of offering an explanation or a clear understanding of why these two characters' differences meant they couldn't be friends in the first place. For me, this is where the book stepped away from a child mentality and presented a predefined perspective. Kids love to ask the question "But why?". At the end of the book, Pablo Taco still didn't understand the reason behind Hamburger Dan's initial rejection, so it left me contemplating the effectiveness of the lesson the book is trying to instill. How is a child to handle a situation such as this if they don't understand what's going on?
Having said that, I think the book has its merits. I appreciate its good intentions of addressing such a subject matter and highlighting an awareness of how societies perceive difference. While the beginning and the end were satisfactory, the middle, I'm afraid to say, wasn't. But I would still recommend this book for it was an enjoyable read. I absolutely loved the illustrations.
VERDICT:
Award: Silver
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Source: Review copy via Ravenswood Publishing
The lesson:
Don't be limited by social stereotypes. Difference is not something to be shunned for but rather something to be proud of.
The book has a great message about accepting each other dispite the fact of our differences. Like Pablo Taco, kids are easy and vulnerable targets to instill prejudices upon but they are also the part of society more willing to accept differences as they haven't quite established their individuality. I thought the book handled the subject matter effectively to the extent that Pablo Taco and Hamburger Dan stuck by each other when they came under attack, but I felt it didn't completely resolve the issues brought on by prejudices in a way of offering an explanation or a clear understanding of why these two characters' differences meant they couldn't be friends in the first place. For me, this is where the book stepped away from a child mentality and presented a predefined perspective. Kids love to ask the question "But why?". At the end of the book, Pablo Taco still didn't understand the reason behind Hamburger Dan's initial rejection, so it left me contemplating the effectiveness of the lesson the book is trying to instill. How is a child to handle a situation such as this if they don't understand what's going on?
Having said that, I think the book has its merits. I appreciate its good intentions of addressing such a subject matter and highlighting an awareness of how societies perceive difference. While the beginning and the end were satisfactory, the middle, I'm afraid to say, wasn't. But I would still recommend this book for it was an enjoyable read. I absolutely loved the illustrations.
VERDICT:
SILVER
Award: Silver
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Source: Review copy via Ravenswood Publishing
Michael Sandifer is a 3rd grade teacher in California and lives with his wife and two children. Being a teacher, he always wanted to write a children’s book with the character’s he uses in his classroom. It wasn’t until recently, during the drama with the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team that he figured out the message that his characters were meant for. The message is that diversity is a celebration, and should be frequently taught to children so we never have a similar problem that the Clippers players went through for anyone again.
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