Title: Kingly and I: Un Paseo Por El Cañaveral: Kingly and I: a Trip Around the Sugar Cane Farm
Author: Anelly Schwab Alfaro
Publisher: Archway Publishing
ISBN: 978-1480870857
Pages: 44
Genre: Memoir / YA non-fiction
Reviewed by: Nicole Olson

Read Book Review

Kingly and I: a Trip Around the Sugar Cane Plantation is a light hearted and touching memoir written in two languages by Anelly Schwab Alfaro. In this beautifully illustrated bilingual book, Alfaro recalls many wonderful memories with her best summertime friend – a horse named Kingly.

This book has the potential to resonate with so many readers because who doesn’t remember those wonderful childhood summers spent outdoors? This book can take you all the way to the Dominican Republic on a nostalgic childhood road to your own past. Perhaps you also traveled to your foreign grandparents for summers, or remember spending a great deal of time with relatives while your parents worked.

Not only is the book completely filled with wonderfully drawn pictures, it is also written in two languages. This is a great book to use in a classroom or homeschool unit about Latin America especially for older students who may be learning Spanish as a second language. This is also a wonderful story for native Spanish speakers to use since the author wrote the story in English as well. It is interesting to see how the writer tells the story in both languages as each language has its unique structure and rules.

Another wonderful thing about this book is the strong bond between the horse and his rider – the narrator. She truly loves and cares for him as does he in return. Their friendship is truly magical and makes the story so fun to read. He is a favorite among everyone in the family – 19 cousins to be exact! The family life described in this book feels like a community because it is so big. The leaders are the strong and loving grandparents which love all of their grandchildren. The love between grandparents and their grandchildren is an unmatched relationship and it is so beautiful to read the different experiences and memories the author shares in her book.

This book is a beautiful breath of fresh air to be included in any personal library. It is meant to be shared and enjoyed by readers of all ages and backgrounds. Anyone can learn something from this book, be it a lesson in friendship or a word or two in a new language. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and my son did too. He loved all the detailed pictures – this is a book for any and every age to enjoy.