Kiwi-family
{Rachael, the Mama of the family}
- Time of past OR future Camino
- walking every day for the rest of my life
In preparation for our wee Camino wander, we have turned to books....(obviously most of them are not specific to the Camino, but we were wanting to give the kids an introduction to the culture as whole too)
Picture books:
* The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (all time favourite!!!)
* Anno's Spain (oh, it's so wonderfully rich in detail)
* Dali and the Path of Dreams by Anna Obiols (a memorable story about Savlvador Dali with a good little biography at the back)
* Picasso's Trousers by Nicholas Allan (as memorable as the Dali story)
* Prince of the Birds by Amanda hall (great to see yet another culture with a fairy tale carrying the eternal theme of love - sympathetically illustrated too)
* Don Quixote...OK, so not originally a picture book, but Marcia Williams has made this epic tale most accessible in cartoon form
Children's Novels:
* Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska (fantastic themes run through this story - great book to read aloud and discuss)
* The Andalusian Guitar by Saint-Marcoux (translated into English, this reads part suspenseful-story, part travel-guide, part Spanish culture introduction.....we learnt a lot)
* I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino (there's nothing not to like about this story)
Adults' Books:
* Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (and I'm proud to say I have read the entire thing)
* Iberia by James Michener
* South from Granada by Gerald Brenan
* Travels with my Donkey by Tim Moore (one of a number of Camino stories, all of which tend to read the same after a while - we started walking, got blisters, slept in a dorm with ninety snorers etc etc....this one at least has the attraction of humour, but after a while it felt like the story was more a coathanger for his jokes than a worthy entity in itself and I tired of the book before finishing it - understanding I was looking for a Camino book, not a joke book)
* Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving (I haven't read this, but intend to do so)
* The Sun Also Rises AND Death in the Afternoon - both by Ernest Hemingway about bullfighting (the kids' ones were enough for me, but these add to the record)
* Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
Non-fiction:
We borrowed everything the library had; most were merely informative, but the following were gems.
* Find Out About Spain by Duncan Crosbie
* DK First Spanish Picture Dictionary (chosen above the others we perused as it had a pronunciation guide)
* A Taste of Spain by Bob Goodwin (had recipes in it that we tried out in our own kitchen and thoroughly enjoyed - can't wait to go there!)
* The Story of Pablo Picasso by Liz Gogerly (Lifetimes series)
* Pablo Picasso by Kate Scarborough (Artists in Their World series)
* What Makes a Goya a Goya?
Does anyone know a good children's book about Velazquez? (we've been limited to looking at pictures in big art anthologies)
And any other *Spain* books you'd recommend?
Picture books:
* The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (all time favourite!!!)
* Anno's Spain (oh, it's so wonderfully rich in detail)
* Dali and the Path of Dreams by Anna Obiols (a memorable story about Savlvador Dali with a good little biography at the back)
* Picasso's Trousers by Nicholas Allan (as memorable as the Dali story)
* Prince of the Birds by Amanda hall (great to see yet another culture with a fairy tale carrying the eternal theme of love - sympathetically illustrated too)
* Don Quixote...OK, so not originally a picture book, but Marcia Williams has made this epic tale most accessible in cartoon form
Children's Novels:
* Shadow of a Bull by Maia Wojciechowska (fantastic themes run through this story - great book to read aloud and discuss)
* The Andalusian Guitar by Saint-Marcoux (translated into English, this reads part suspenseful-story, part travel-guide, part Spanish culture introduction.....we learnt a lot)
* I, Juan de Pareja by Elizabeth Borton de Trevino (there's nothing not to like about this story)
Adults' Books:
* Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes (and I'm proud to say I have read the entire thing)
* Iberia by James Michener
* South from Granada by Gerald Brenan
* Travels with my Donkey by Tim Moore (one of a number of Camino stories, all of which tend to read the same after a while - we started walking, got blisters, slept in a dorm with ninety snorers etc etc....this one at least has the attraction of humour, but after a while it felt like the story was more a coathanger for his jokes than a worthy entity in itself and I tired of the book before finishing it - understanding I was looking for a Camino book, not a joke book)
* Tales of the Alhambra by Washington Irving (I haven't read this, but intend to do so)
* The Sun Also Rises AND Death in the Afternoon - both by Ernest Hemingway about bullfighting (the kids' ones were enough for me, but these add to the record)
* Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
Non-fiction:
We borrowed everything the library had; most were merely informative, but the following were gems.
* Find Out About Spain by Duncan Crosbie
* DK First Spanish Picture Dictionary (chosen above the others we perused as it had a pronunciation guide)
* A Taste of Spain by Bob Goodwin (had recipes in it that we tried out in our own kitchen and thoroughly enjoyed - can't wait to go there!)
* The Story of Pablo Picasso by Liz Gogerly (Lifetimes series)
* Pablo Picasso by Kate Scarborough (Artists in Their World series)
* What Makes a Goya a Goya?
Does anyone know a good children's book about Velazquez? (we've been limited to looking at pictures in big art anthologies)
And any other *Spain* books you'd recommend?
