Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin by Duncan Tonatiuh. Harry N. Abrams, 2010
SUMMARY:
o Carlitos and Charlie are in the same family, but they live worlds apart. One lives
in Mexico while the other lives in a big city in America. The cousins write to each
other back and forth about their lives. Carlitos tells Charlie all about going to the
market, playing outside by the river and helping his mom make quesadillas at
home. Charlie writes his cousin how he goes to the grocery store, plays outside
his house on the stoop, and how he eats at a pizza parlor on his way home from
school. Although the cousins live far apart, they have fun writing to each other
and hope for a day when they can visit the other.
AWARDS:
o Honorable Mention from Pura Belpré – 2011
o Notable Book – Global Society List
o Included on the First Book Latino Culture & Heritage Collection for Elementary
Schools
o Americas Award commended title
BOOK REVIEW: Samantha Hagler from goodreads.com
o “This book is about two distant cousins who talk to each other through letters that
they send each other in the mail. One lives in Mexico and the other lives in
America. They both describe their lives and their environment and how they live.
Each cousin is similar but so different. This is a great book to introduce cultural
differences, specifically Mexican. The book is filled with Spanish words, which
can get students familiar with another language and also relate to any students that
may be of the Spanish culture. Another great idea that this book teaches is letter
writing. The teacher can have the students write their own letters to an imaginary
pen pal that lives in another country. A social studies or language arts lesson can
be used from this book.”
AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR WEBSITE: http://duncantonatiuh.com/
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
o BEFORE QUESTIONS:
1. By looking at the cover, what two cultures can we assume the story is
about?
2. The title uses two different languages, what are those languages?
3. Based upon the cover, does it look like the two boys have very different
lives?
o DURING QUESTIONS:
1. How do you know what the Spanish words mean without having the
definition in English in front of you?
2. The cousins both play with their friends outside; What/how different are
the activities that the boys participate in?
3. Do you think Día de los Muertos is a scary tradition to participate in? Do
you think it is similar to Halloween?
o AFTER QUESTIONS:
1. How would you communicate with your cousin if he/she lived far away?
2. Did the boys live very different lives?
3. How were the boys’ lives the same? Different?
ACTIVITIES:
o READING/ORAL LANGUAGE: In a bilingual classroom, have students learn
the Spanish words introduced by Carlitos, and also focus on the English
translation.
o WRITING: Write a letter to a real or pretend cousin who lives in a foreign
country. Come up with questions for students to ask the cousin and have them
write their own experience as well (EX: Ask the cousin about what he/she does
for fun in the summer and write, “I like to go to the dog-park to walk my
dog…etc.”
o SOCIAL STUDIES: With the two cultures described in Dear Primo: A Letter to
my Cousin, have students come up with their own brand new country and culture.
Have it coincide with every detail in the book (what they live around, how they
get from place to place, how they play, traditions/celebrations, etc.)
o COOKING FOOD: Just like Carlitos and Charlie in the book, everyone has his or
her own favorite foods that come from his or her own family background. Show
the students how to write a recipe by writing the recipe for Carlitos’s favorite food
(quesadillas) and Charlie’s favorite food (pizza) and have them write their own
family recipe down to share with the class.
RELATED BOOKS:
o Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match / Marisol McDonald no combina by Monica
Brown and Sara Palacios
o Mice and Beans by Pam Munoz Ryan, Joe Cepeda
OTHER BOOKS BY DUNCAN TONATIUH
o Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote: A Migrant's Tale
o Diego Rivera: His World and Ours
o Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Family's Fight for
Desegregation
ACTIVITY WEBSITES
o Nick Junior and Dora the Explorer
http://www.nickjr.com/kids/dora-the-explorer/
Spanish activities with Dora the Explorer!
o Play the Burrito Game
http://www.littleburro.com/game/game.html
Just like Carlitos liked to make quesadillas, you can play the burrito game to learn
about another Hispanic food!
o Spanish for Kids
http://www.aasd.k12.wi.us/staff/boldtkatherine/spanishforkids.htm
Students can learn even more Spanish words than Carlitos taught to Charlie with
these fun games!
o eBookily.org – Comprehension Strategy Visualize Story
http://ebookily.org/pdf/unit-4-week-3-comprehension-strategy-visualize-story164023388.html
http://www.theteachersguide.com/wondersunitfourweekthree/unitfourweekthreen
obonusttg.pdf This website has a pdf document which lists various strategies and vocabulary
words for the story, Dear Primo.
o Melissa’s Blog – Dear Primo
http://mrsswaim1211.wordpress.com/2011/05/21/dear-primo-a-letter-to-mycousin-by-duncan-tonatiuh/
Melissa is a teacher and gives her reflection on the book as well as suggests ways
to use it as a mentor text in her classroom.