Viva Frida

Based on the Caldecott Honor Book and Pura Belpré Award winner (for Latino works for children), Viva Frida is an iconographic-animated adaptation of author-illustrator Yuyi Morales's 2014 picture book. Narrated by Adriana Sananes, this introduction to famed Mexican painter Frida Kahlo looks at a life full of triumph and tragedy, including her marriage to Diego Rivera and untimely death. Along the way, some simple everyday phrases are translated into Spanish (there are also read-along options for both Spanish and English). A couple of odd vocabulary choices for young viewers crop up here—a reference to Kahlo's “mangled” body following a car accident, and the word “tortuous”—but this is a beautifully illustrated and informative portrait of the artist. Recommended. Aud: E, P. (T. Keogh)