August's BOM: Niños Mask

Niño’s Mask
by Jeanette Winter


The LBBC’s recommendation for August’s Libro del Mes, is Jeanette Winter's Niño’s Mask.

There are many colorful and beautiful picture books in the Latino children’s literature market today. But few can rival the intensity and quality of those created by Jeanette Winter, a versatile writer who focuses on multicultural children’s literature. Her work is instantly recognizable for its distinctive “folk art” illustrations. Winter’s artistic style lends itself perfectly to portraying the Latino culture and its love affair with color.

We have featured other works by Winter including Abecedario Calavera, an excellent supplement to Día de los Muertos studies, and Diego, which her son, Jonah Winter, wrote. Like these other titles, Niño’s Mask focuses on an art craft of the Mexican culture. This story revolves around a little boy, named Niño, who longs to wear a mask and participate in a fiesta in his village. But he is told by his parents that he is still too young to join in. Undeterred, Niño patiently learns from a mask-maker in his village how to create his own mascara. And he does.

The book is not written in the normal fashion with text on each page, but rather, the story is told through speech bubbles as the characters talk to each other, or to the reader. It is very well done and serves as proof of Winter’s master storytelling ability that she is able to deliver the plot of the story, as well as to teach the reader about a foreign tradition, through this unusual manner. This almost comic book style of narration, is perhaps influenced by her childhood exposure to this medium (Walt Disney Comics were one of her favorites).

The illustrations are simply superb! Despite its simplicity, Winter’s color choice makes the artwork jump off the page with vibrancy and richness. The way she depicts the landscape, architecture, and even the character’s clothing, indicates an intimate knowledge of the Mexican culture. In an article she wrote for Macmillan Books, Winter states that she “looks at primitive and natïve paintings for their storytelling qualities. And the spirit and spontaneity of Mexican crafts are especially exciting to me.” This fact is realized through Niño and her other works mentioned above.

The book is written in English with embedded Spanish words. And though there is a glossary in the back, it is not really even necessary as the meaning of each word is conveyed through both its use in the sentence, as well as the illustrations. A brief history of mask making in the Mexican culture is also included in the back of the book.

If you would like to buy your own copy of Niño’s Mask, please click here. Or you can follow the link in our sidebar to the LBBC’s on-line store. We have both new and gently used copies available at EXCELLENT prices.