Viva Frida

Starred review from June 16, 2014
Readers will recognize Morales’s (Niño Wrestles the World) handmade Frida Kahlo doll from Kahlo’s self-portraits—Morales’s doll has the same haunting beauty and direct gaze, and she wears the same Mexican peasant clothing. In a series of composed photographs, Frida gazes at her pet monkey—another handmade creation—who slips the artist a key. The key opens a locked box, which holds a marionette, a jointed skeleton. Spare, lyrical text is set in English and, in fainter type, in Spanish, and each page turn reveals a new word or phrase. “Juego/ I play,” Frida says, manipulating the marionette while the monkey sits on her shoulder. Now a paper cutout, Frida is shown dreaming, rescuing an injured fawn, then awakening, restored to doll form, as her husband—a plump, affectionate Diego Rivera—gives her a kiss on the cheek. “¡Vivo!” she says. “I live!” Frida is presented less as a historical figure than as an icon who represents the life Morales holds sacred; Frida lives because she loves and creates. A detailed biography is included. Ages 4–8. Agent: Charlotte Sheedy, Charlottte Sheedy Literary Agency.

Reviewing an audiobook of less than 20 words is a difficult task--even one featuring the colorful Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Adriana Sananes's narration of this book in both English and Spanish is precise, her pacing leisurely, her voice quiet. She's the quintessential unobtrusive narrator. Given that author/illustrator Yuyi Morales won a Caldecott Honor Medal for her illustrations, how much better it would be to have this recording as a read-along. Poring over the book while listening will make this book much more vivid for young listeners. A short biography of the artist concludes the production. For the audio-only production, this is the meat of the experience. A.R. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine