Papa and Me

Papa and Me
By: Arthur Dorros
Rayo 2008
Picture Book

This book had especially caught my eye when I was looking for picture books to read because first it was a multicultural book and it was about a father and son. From the books I have seen through the reading I have done I rarely ever see any father and son books. I feel like these books are extremely important because that is what can potentially get boys into reading more because they could find it more relatable. Targeting education towards boys so they can find it more entertaining and engaging is so important in early childhood education. Even better, targeting young Hispanic boys to reading is even more influential. They can relate to it as it has parts of the Spanish language, and things that they may see at home a lot. It could even be a great learning tool for young children trying to learn Spanish. While trying to learn Spanish in a classroom, a class could use context clues throughout the book to figure out words and work on their context clue skills which will help their overall reading.


Papa and Me follows a days adventure of a father and son. It integrates the Spanish language by incorporating small Spanish phrases and then giving fairly obvious context clues as to what they mean. The illustrations in the book were absolutely gorgeous, and if you don't like anything else about the book you will love them. The author does a wonderful job of showing the strong bond between a father and son. The writing exhibited a strong sense of family which can be really important for students that are coming into American schools that may feel a lack or identity or like they are loosing their culture.