19. Medio Pollito

# 19 Medio Pollito

Author: Amanda StJohn

Illustrator: Sue Todd

Publisher: Peterson Publishing Company, 2012

24 pages

Fantasy

I chose this book because it was the book one of the EL students in my class was reading and always wanted to talk about the story with me when we had one on one time. The story is about a baby chick that was born with one eye, wing, and leg. His mother named him Medio Pollito, which means half chick. Medio had all the attention because he was the youngest and his siblings thought he could not do things on his own. Eventually Medio began tot hinkt he world revolved around him. Medio traveled one day to the governor to see if he could help in any way and on the way there the story tells of the different things he tried to help such as the river, the wind, and the campfire. Medio is mistaken for the governors dinner and calls on his friends he previously helped to help him.

The illustrations in this book are created with dark bold lines. The lines are curled and whispy. The colors come from the warm side of the spectrum with oranges, reds, and yellows. The story is a Mexican folk-tale and the use of colors and arrangements in the illustrations create the latin feel throughout the story. The text is on one side of the page while the illustrations are on the other side.

            This book is appropriate for all grade levels to be used in the classroom that introduces different cultures. Having this book in a classroom will not only incorporate another heritage, but include any ELL students in the classroom. This book could be used in a social studies lesson for students to research a different culture and the stories children their age in another culture grew up hearing. The book could introduce a character development lesson showing students that what goes around comes around and the seeds they sow they will one day reap. So if they sow generosity they will reap generosity in their time of need. The books could be used in a science lesson to study the growth of baby chickens before they hatch This book has no awards or honors.