Best Selling Books by George Ancona

“This fun and inspiring season-by-season description of a school gardening project could encourage others to repeat this extraordinary experience.” — School Library Journal Want to grow what you eat and eat what you grow? Visit this lively, flourishing school-and-community garden and be inspired to cultivate your own. Part celebration, part simple how-to, this close-up look at a vibrant garden and its enthusiastic gardeners is blooming with photos that will have readers ready to roll up their sleeves and dig in.

Looks at Mexico''s traditional ways of celebrating, including fireworks, music, dancing, recreations of historic battles, and productions of folk plays, and describes carnival, saint''s days, and holidays.

Text and photographs present the traditions and rituals of the annual celebration of Carnaval as experienced in the small Brazilian city of Olinda.

Looks at the major developments in Mexico''s history, including early civilizations, the colonial period, and the events of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Looks at Mexico''s many ethnic groups, including Indians, the Europeans and Africans who arrived after the Spanish conquest, people of mixed origins, and recent immigrants, and discusses the Virgin of Guadalupe, work, family life, and related topics.

Real kids make a real difference in their communities in this vibrantly photographed chronicle by George Ancona. George Ancona celebrates the joy of kids giving back. In one after-school program, middle-school students mentor and tutor younger children. Via a special partnership, schoolchildren help professionals train assistance dogs for people with disabilities. At a community farm, families plant, grow, and harvest produce for soup kitchens and charities. In these and other examples of volunteering, kids of all ages work together knitting hats and scarves for those who could use warm clothes, packing hot meals to deliver to housebound people, and keeping roadways clean. Young humanitarians reading these accounts may well be inspired to find ways that they can help, too.

From October 31 to November 2, people in Mexico celebrate the festival of el Dia de Los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. This photodocumentary follows Pablo and his family as they prepare to honor the memory of Pablo''s grandmother. Ancona''s "photographs catch the affirmation of life that fills the Mexican festival arising from both Aztec and Christian customs honoring the dead....Joyful."--Chicago Tribune. "This intriguing book makes an excellent offering during the Halloween season."--School Library Journal. Also available in a Spanish Language edition, Pablo Recuerda.

Introduces Capoeira, a combination of play, martial arts and dance, as practiced in the United States and Brazil, as well as its colorful roots in the African slave culture of Brazil and its history.

Follow four energetic boys as they train for and take the stage in a community dance performance celebrating classic kids’ books. Can you emote like an angry pirate from Treasure Island — and even act out a fake swordfight? When four boys join their schools'' dance teams, that’s just one of the numbers being rehearsed for a performance directed by the National Dance Institute of New Mexico, inspired by favorite books such as The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Where the Wild Things Are, The Thousand and One Nights, and Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Trailing the four enthusiastic dancers is photographer George Ancona, whose copious images capture the infectious spirit of the boys as they learn to dance, act, sing, leap, pretend-fight, change costumes, work hard, and above all, have fun, together with vivacious boys and girls from many other schools.

An introduction to two kinds of sign language: finger spelling, or forming words letter by letter with the fingers, and signing, or making signs with one or two hands for each word or idea.

Looks at Mexico''s culinary traditions, including native foods, Spanish additions to the diet, favorite dishes, and everyday and holiday meals, and shares recipes for guacamole and rice pudding.

Welcome to José''s neighborhood. In his barrio, people speak an easy mix of Spanish and English and sometimes even Chinese. The masked revelry of Halloween leads into the festive remembrances of the Day of the Dead. And murals on the walls and buildings sing out the stories of the people who live here. As familiar as any neighborhood yet as strange as a foreign country, Jose''s barrio isn''t in Mexico or Argentina--it''s in San Francisco. Award-winning author and photographer George Ancona follows José through a season in the barrio, and in the process gives readers a glimpse of a community as rich and varied as America itself.

Harvest is a Marshall Cavendish publication.

This colorful photo essay shows how dance is at the heart of many cultures and traditions. Simple text reinforces basic action words.

Explores in black-and-white photographs the special relationship between adults and children working together in many different settings.

Words and sign language depict a group of students involved in putting on a Thanksgiving play at a school for deaf children.

Observes an infant''s development during the months between his birth and first birthday.

Follows the building of stonework for the Cathedral of St. John the Divine from the quarrying of the limestone to the creation of the carvings.

Murals is a Marshall Cavendish publication.

- Award-winning author-photographer - Noted language consultants Alma Flor Ada and F. Isabel Campoy - Intimate, original photographs - Children share their lives in Spanish and English - Word list, map, family history, and cultural background Grades K-4 National Social Studies Standards - Culture: I - Explore and describe similarities and differences in the ways people, societies, and cultures address similar human needs and concerns - Give examples of how experiences may be interpreted differently by people from diverse cultural perspectives - Describe ways in which language, stories, music, and artistic creations serve as expressions of culture

Text and photographs depict four major aquariums, describing how they are able to recreate various aquatic environments for many species of life.

Describes the experiences of Alicia, a young girl who wants to grow up to be a potter.

Describes the preparation of fireworks as well as the festival honoring San Juan de Dios, the patron saint of Tultepec, Mexico, which is famous for its master pyrotechnics.

Text and photographs present the life and customs of the descendants of the Maya now living in the Yucatan Peninsula area of Mexico.

Words and sign language depict children at the zoo discovering how to sign the names of various animals and how to tell time.

A photo essay describing the various types of cargo ships, how they operate, and the jobs of the crew that maintains them.

Words and sign language depict friends helping a deaf girl celebrate her birthday.

A pictorial essay of the American family farm, focusing on the daily lives of three families in Massachusetts, Georgia, and Iowa.

Charrois the Mexican term for horseman, but for a Mexican a charro is much more than a cowboy. A skilled rider of horses and bulls and bucking broncos, an artist with a lariat, and a model of gentlemanly dress and behavior, the charro is also a living symbol of Mexico''s patriotic past. In the rodeo-like sport calledla charrería,male charros and female charras, children and adults, show off their skill and daring. But more than that they are showing off their pride in their country--because to be a charro is to be a Mexican.

Full-color photographs offer an exceptional look at Crow Fair, the largest powwow in the United States, where Crow, Cree, Lakota, Cheyenne, and others gather to celebrate their shared culture and ancestry.

Story of Tio Rico, a pinata maker in Ejutla de Crespo, a village in southern Mexico.

Grade level: 4, 5, 6, e, i.

Renowned photojournalist George Ancona celebrates his heritage in this authentic and engaging tour of the land south of the border. From his many travels in Mexico, Ancona has culled memorable details and a slew of original photographs -- intimate snapshots of people in everyday settings. A remarkable photostudy, Viva Mexico! combines stunning, full-color images with a lively and concise narrative sprinkled with Spanish words and expressions. Mexico''s culture, history and spirit are revealed through The Foods, The Fiestas, The Folk Arts, The Past and The People. Each volume -- whether focusing on food or art, ancient beginnings or current conflicts -- captures the many flavors and traditions of the land and its people. This series is a wonderful means of encouraging young readers to the north to appreciate their neighbor''s rich heritage.

Told in both English and Spanish by award-winning author-photographer George Ancona, The Pi_ata Maker/El pi_atero documents this traditional Latin American artform and includes a note on how to make pi_atas at home. "A delightful introduction to the subject and a memorable glimpse of one Mexican village and its people."-- Booklist

The Ancona family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. With photos they show us how, with the help of an architect friend, they built their new adobe home.

For more than 100 years, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine has been under construction. Workers from all over the world have contributed their abilities & labor & time, decade after decade. And although the cathedral is still unfinished, services are held there, festivals are celebrated, & the helpless & homeless are fed, clothed, & befriended within its walls. This full-color book, for juvenile readers, follows the awesome process of building the stonework of the Cathedral -- from the quarrying of the limestone hundreds of miles away, to the cutting of the 11 ton stone blocks, to the creation of the magnificent carvings to adorn it.