The House I Live In: Venezuela

Learning about Venezuela through the book Baseball in El Barrios: Grade 4-6. This photo-essay shows the enthusiasm for baseball in the neighborhoods (barrios) of the cities and towns throughout Venezuela. It focuses on Hubaldo Antonio Romero Paez, a fifth grader from Caracas. The boy talks a little about his school and family, but he mostly explains where and how he plays baseball and the setup of the Venezuelan leagues. He also mentions a few outstanding players from his country, such as Luis Aparicio and Ozzie Guillen, who made it in the North American major leagues. The text is well written and mixes nicely with the bright, full-color photos that are expertly laid out on each page. Baseball terms with pronunciations in Spanish and helpful maps are included. This useful book shows children in the U.S. that baseball is played passionately in other countries. The wonderful pictures perfectly capture Hubaldo and his friends' exuberant love of the game. From Booklist Gr. 2-4. Hubaldo, a fifth-grader who lives in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, would rather play baseball, beisbol in Spanish, than do anything else. In an engaging essay teamed with crisp, colorful photographs, Hubaldo introduces his family and friends as well as baseball as it is played in the Venezuelan barrios. Baseball, the most popular sport in Venezuela, is truly an "all-American sport" because, as this book shows, the game is played and pursued with passion in both North and South America. This dynamic sports photo-essay will be fun for sports fans and effective for social studies units.Here is a slide show of the book This is a vocabulary word response assignment for the book. The task is to match the Spanish word with the picture and then write an English definition for the Spanish word. Another assignment: a venn diagram on school in Venezuela vs. New York