This is a children's book about the life of Frida Kahlo.

The book tells the story of Frida, a Mexican artist well known for her self-portraits as well as her marriage to Mexican painter Diego Rivera. It also makes emphasis on the large number of pets she had and loved.

The book contains beautiful illustrations and at the end of it there's a short biography of her life targeted to a more adult audience.

The main story is kept very light but discussing all the pain and difficulties she faced throughout her life might not be too kid-friendly. Overall I liked the book.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this publication in exchange for an honest review.

Frida Kahlo's life has fascinated and enthralled me for over 30 years and I delight in reading anything written on her flamboyant and colorful life. Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos is a vibrant and new approach to telling her story to children using her pets to tell the story of her life.

Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos is a short, wonderful children's book that talks about the life of artist Frida Kahlo as well as all her pets. It gives a unique look at another aspect of the artist's life that is not as widely discussed even as clear as it is in her paintings. For any child wanting to learn a little more about such an artist, and be able to connect with such a figure, this is a good place to start.

I liked this book, and I would buy it for my library. But I felt like there was something missing. It was almost like there was too much effort made to make Frida Kahlo's life suitable for children. I can't put my finger on exactly was didn't work for me, but it seemed like there was no snap to the book. I would buy this book, but I would keep looking for another age-appropriate book that has the spark that I'm missing.

This short, biographical telling of Frida Kahlo is stunning. The information about her life and animals are the perfect snippets for children. Telling her story through her pets is a fun twist, and the illustrations that accompany the text are incredible. Completely made the book for me.

AWE..I just loved this and all of her little pets. Short little read about young Frida Kahlo and her love for animals. I enjoyed the illustrations of her pets, using bold and bright colors like she used in her own artwork. We see two monkeys, a parrot, three dogs, two turkeys, and eagle, a black cat (my favorite of course), and a fawn. (second favorite)-Turkeys are believed to have been sacred in ancient Mexican cultures. They are were viewed as "jewelled birds".

A quote from the book, "They (turkeys) are intelligent and sensitive animals that are highly social. Turkeys create lasting social bonds with each other and are very affectionate ; rather similar to dogs. " I know this to be true!

I did not know much of this about Frida and I would recommend it to everyone, but especially to parents and children. I think it should be made available in elementary school libraries. All the stars. I want a physical copy to share with students. I think any fan of the artist would love to add this to their collection. Its beautiful, heartwarming and inspiring.

Thank you NetGalley, North South Books, and Monica Brown for and ARC to read in exchange for a review. I adored this. I will buy a copy for my classroom.

I liked the book a lot. Frida Kahlo and her Animalitos offers a different angle to introduce children to a famous artist and her paintings.

Due to her frail health, Frida Kahlo spent a lot of time at home and had to stay in bed for weeks on end, often only surrounded by her pets, which are actually quite an exotic collection.
She painted a lot of self portraits and in quite a few she is seen surrounded by her beloved animals.

The book concentrates mainly on those paintings and offers along with their story a short biography of Frida Kahlo. The result is IMO a biography which is both informative and hugely entertaining for young children. The illustrations are very colourful and a joy to look at.
Frida Kahlo's life is also a good example, not to give up when faced with severe heath problems, but to keep fighting.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Frida Kahlo and her Animalitos introduces young readers to artist Frida Kahlo as a little girl. Frida lives in La Casa Azul with her parents, sisters, and her many pets. As Brown leads readers through Frida’s childhood, she illustrates her different traits by explaining how Frida was like her beloved pets. Sprinkled through the book are Spanish phrases and facts about indigenous Mexico.
Frida Kahlo and her Animalitos is a delight to read! The biography is simple for young readers to understand. It’s words are very descriptive, painting a picture of who Frida was as a person. Children will relate to the love Frida has for her pets.
The illustrations are beautiful! The bright colors match thecolors Frida loved and draw the reader in, inviting them to examine each detail. I am familiar with illustrator John Parra from Round is a Tortilla: A Book of Shapes, which was on TLA’s 2015 Texas Two by Two list. I was happy to see his illustrations again!

Great title that helps readers become familiar with the animals of Frida Kahlo. These same animals would go onto to be featured in her painting.

Not a big fan of Frida's but did enjoy learning that she has a love for animals and had quite a menagerie! Nice to find out she included them in her paintings. Immortalized them!

Yet another book follows the new trend of picture book biographies of famous people suitable for younger readers. The advantage is exposing children to people who have had an impact on a specific field or endeavor, the disadvantage is that much of the complexity and ambiguity of genius is either glossed over or not mentioned at all.
Be that as it may, well illustrated in the spirit of Frida with a child-friendly perspective of the animals she loved.

A gentle and colorfully painted biography of Frida Kahlo aimed at a young audience. The book is age appropriate and deals with the tragic parts of Kahlo's life in a good manner, not neglecting to mention them, but not dwelling on her illnesses or chronic pain or difficulties either.
The focus of the book is Frida and her animals. The animals which are represented in her paintings are listed in the afterword biography along with dates.
The book is full of small background history such as the fact that her dogs were Xolo, a hairless breed known to the Aztecs.
The art itself is very colorful and primitive and does a good job of being reminiscent without attempting to copy Kahlo's style. The paintings and narrative go well together.

The book would be well received by any young reader and could be well used in a unit on art history.

I liked how the illustrations in the book included reminders of her chronic pain and difficulties, such as a wheelchair and prosthesis, without explicitly overemphasizing them. I think it would resonate well with a reading group of youngsters to maybe see that people are more similar than they had thought.

Beautiful book, well written. Very basic but a good introduction for further reading.

Picture book biography of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. The illustrations are colorful and gorgeous. This book focuses more on Frida's pets. A great introduction on the life of this artist for children.

Before the Selma Hayek movie came out, you’d have to be a huge student of art to know who Frida Kahlo was. Now she’s pretty much as famous as her husband Diego Rivera, if not more so. This book takes the young reader through Frida’s early life, where the animals in her menagerie were her best friends. Each animal is compared to her, both physically and mentally/emotionally.
You don’t associate the word “cute” with Frida, but these childhood stories certainly belie that. (And yes, the unibrow is faithfully recreated.) My fave moment is her breathing on the window so she could doodle on it.
It’s easy to miss, but on the page where Frida is painting in bed, you can see an artificial leg standing there, waiting to be used.
Recently I saw an art exhibit where she was referred to as the Queen of Selfies. The artwork in this book is nowhere near realistic, but then Frida’s wasn’t either. Interesting that she started her artistic career as a photo colorist for her dad. More than anything, I have to say I was amazed to discover her paintings have been in the Louvre.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5

I was drawn to read this book based on the beautiful artwork on the cover. The illustrations are gorgeous, and have the feel of Mexican folk art. The story itself is interesting, especially for those of us that know little about the life of the artist, Frida Kahlo. Children will enjoy the images of the artist with monkeys, parrots, and other exotic animals that are certainly not common pets. Those of us working in elementary classrooms are searching for books with diverse characters, and this picture book would make a nice addition to the class library.

If I just wanted to introduce children to the idea of Frida Kahlo, this might be a good way to do this. I would never have though of focusing on her animals, but whatever works.

However, there are no examples of her actual paintings anywhere in the book, although there is a brief, more detailed bio at the end of the book.

Without the images of the paintings, it makes me wonder if a child, reading this book, would understand how important this artist was, or what she went through in her life, or anything special, such as how she promoted indigenous art and dress.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

This book is a short biographical insight into the life and works of Frida Kahlo. I love Kahlo's work and when I saw this book on Netgalley, I had no alternative but to read it.

Kahlo (1907-1954) was a Mexican artist, famous for her paintings using bold vibrant colours. Kahlo in her teens had a very serious accident that left her with multiple fractures of the spine, collarbone and ribs, a shattered pelvis, broken foot and a dislocated shoulder. This accident resulted in her having to undergo approx 30 operations. Many of her paintings showed the emotional and physical pain that she had to endure, for example 'The Broken Column', a painting that I personally love. Of her 200 works (paintings, sketches and drawings) 55 are self portraits.

Brown's book focuses on Kahlo's relationship with her animals. These animals feature in many of Kahlo's paintings and from those paintings it is very evident that Kahlo loved all her animals. Kahlo had a very turbulent life, especially during the years when she was married to fellow artist Diego Rivera.

Brown's biography of Kahlo is accompanied by lovely illustrations from John Parra. This is a short book, therefore only gives a brief insight into Kahlo's life. The author does provide an addendum giving more information about Kahlo. Brown's text and Parra's illustrations produce an excellent book, especially for the younger budding artist who wants to start to learn about art history. A lovely book to read.

More information on Frida Kahlo can be found here: www.fridakahlo.org


Many thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in return for an honest review.

Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos by Monica Brown. Illustrated by John Parra. North South Books Inc.
This is a sweet introduction to Kahlo’s art via her animals, a condensed version of her relatively short life written and illustrated for any child’s appreciation. Highly recommend. Thanks to NetGalley and North South Books Inc. for providing this ebook for review.

I like how the author is telling a very condensed biography of Frida Kahlo through the pets she had throughout her life; it shows a great deal of originality which is in a way very artistic. The story is engaging and the pictures are colorful and that makes this book’s presentation very appealing to elementary teachers that are interested on bringing art into the classroom. I can see how this book could really inspire kids to try out their hand at drawing and painting because it focuses on Frida’s pets and kids love their own pets because they feel a connection with them. I hope this book gets printed as a hardcover big picture book; it deserves it.