Mi papá es un cowboy

Gr 2-5–Papá rides his horse, Power, and our young narrator rides her “poni” Clover in this introspective story about their love of horses. This Spanish-language picture book offers vivid images of city cowboys, linking one Panamanian family to the cowboy tradition, with an urban twist. Birds wake up as father and daughter mosey past storefronts and cafés, and he tells her how he became a cowboy. Neighbors open their shops and wave hello while the sun rises. Back at the ranch, Papá’s cowboy friends gather to start their day, and our storyteller’s morning with dad is over, but the best memory of this ride will always be bound to spending time with Papá, the cowboy. Seales’ text beautifully complements Esperanza’s nighttime scenes on a ranch and pre-dawn street scenes in the city. Opportunities abound in this book for both family and classroom conversations about urban and country life—and may generate more avenues for budding authors to absorb what brings people from different communities together.