Colores de la Vida introduces young children to color vocabulary in Spanish and English. Each page has a separate group or groupings of animals. Some of the animals appear to be engaged in conversation making fantasy dialogue for young children possible. The book also features many of Oaxaca Mexico’s most treasured art forms. There are figures in red clay ceramic, black pottery, wood carvings, tin, paper mache and papel picado. The red giraffes, Rene Mandarin, and the yellow dragons, Jose Canseco, were produced by artisans just beginning their careers. Other figures, black spider, Carlomagno Pedro Martinez and brown elephants Angelica Vasquez were produced by two of Mexico’s “Great Masters of Mexican Folk Art” (Fernandez de Calderon, 2000). The book serves the dual purpose of being educational and a child size compendium of Oaxaca, Mexico’s noted folk artisans as well as the range of work they produce. Colores de la Vida will delight the young and lovers of Mexico’s fabulous artistic traditions too.
Because tourism has declined to Mexico in recent years the folk art of that nation is endangered. Colores de la vida highlights the work of several noted artisans. Colores recognizes their talent and gives them an incentive to keep producing.