Proposed: A Children’s Picture Book/Travelog

…an alphabet book in Spanish, using the Spanish alphabet, with illustrations of Hispanic culture for 7- to 13-year olds learning Spanish as a second language or learning to write in Spanish

This book belongs on the shelf between P is for Piñata by Tony Johnston  (Sleeping Bear)  and Abecedarios: Mexican Folk Art ABCs by Cynthia Weill  (Cinco Puntos) . The proposed book goes beyond these comparables, however, by offering complete sentences, complete scenes of cultural activities, and a complete story: 

Abuela takes her two US-born grandchildren on a whirlwind tour of Mexico and Guatemala, letter by letter: Petting whales, climbing pyramids, sleeping in hammocks, riding a “chicken bus.” After Zapatos se zafan, a doublepage spread ticks backward, Z to B. Turn the page for final A, Grandmother weaving images of their adventures above the sleeping children’s heads. Abuela me ama!

The success of Disney’s Coco, the best-selling movie ever shown in Mexico, suggests this story also may have a market beyond US borders.