One morning when Gustavo wakes up before anyone else, everything on the desert is so beautiful that he begins to sing.  Each morning Gustavo becomes braver with his solitary singing and sings louder and louder, finally waking his family.  His beautiful voice and enthusiastic singing earns him a place with the Mariachi band.

J. D. Smith tells the story of Gustavo’s disappointment in being rejected, and then his happiness at discovering a talent that everyone recognizes. Dani Jones uses vibrant colors to show the desert landscape and capture the emotions of Gustavo and his family members.

This bi-lingual book incorporates Spanish words into the English text, unlike others that have the whole text in both languages.  The Spanish words are easy to understand by English-speaking readers because of the way they are used. There is a page of English-Spanish vocabulary words in the back of the book along with a short history of Mariachi bands.

This book would make a great addition to a home school curriculum, or just to read aloud at bedtime and introduce a few new words in another language.