This wonderful children's novel paints a great introduction to the life of one of the most prominent Mexicana painters ever to grace the public eye. In it, readers learn that even though she was stricken with a terrible illness when she was a child, she never let it prevent her from following her passions. Drawing inspiration from her animalitos (or 'little animals' in English), Frida started drawing first portraits of them, then later self-portraits. Her story of perseverance is truly a remarkable one, especially for other disabled children. I would recommend this novel for any child who may be suffering from any illness, whether internal or external. A good companion to this book, would be their own small easel and painters kit so they can experience the joy that Frida also had.

“Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos” was wonderful. I loved how each animal told a little bit more about her life story. It was genius!

Frida Kahlo and her Animalitos is a beautifully crafted book that chronicles the story of Frida Khalo's life through the animals that she loved. This is a great way to introduce children to an artist that had a complicated and storied history. While her art may be harder for children to understand, pets and animals that we love are a common thread that readers can appreciate and sympathize with.

This story is based on historical facts about artists, Frida Kahlo. It begins with her as a child and follows through to show her love of painting and her animals.

On the surface this appears to be a great book to use with students about Frida Kahlo – and it is – to a point. If you are looking at introducing her art or Mexican art history to a younger audience (say grade 4) then this would be fine. It’s what a teacher of mine would call a “nice” story – translation: it omits a bit for the point of the story – and in general there is nothing wrong with that because of the intended audience age.

However, if you teach older students and are looking for a way to introduce her factually-wise you will need to pair this book with another. For those of you who are familiar with Frida you will be aware of her rather tumultuous relationship with her husband Diego Riveria; as one would expect, for the age this is aimed at this is not mentioned. Of course, it could be argued the book is more a celebration of her journey through paintings and thus not particularly relevant.

Overall, it’s a good introductory book to Frida’s life and her paintings.

Such a beautiful book and a great way to introduce both unusual animals and an unusual woman. By telling her story through the animals that meant so much to her a very complex person becomes much more accessible to young children.

Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos is a gorgeous picture book that tells the life of Frida Kahlo with emphasis on her relationship and interaction with the many animals she had.

The illustrations in this book are stunning. The colors are bold and vibrant and the would certainly capture a child's attention. The story tells of Kahlo's adversity over illness and accident and how she did not despair, but used her artistic ability no matter her physical restrictions. The author's focus on Kahlo's interactions with her animals gives both young and old a comfortable way to become acquainted with this amazing artist.

Additionally, the Author's Note provides wonderful, additional details about Kahlo's life.

Great illustrations and interesting lens for viewing her work with children. Would pair with her paintings and Viva Frida.

Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos is a short biographical book for children. The author briefly tells about the life of Frida Kahlo but that's not just it! Frida Kahlo also owned many exotic animals and lived with them at Blue House. Monica Brown introduces each animal and shows us how they inspired Frida's artwork.

The illustrations are amazing! So colourful, just like Frida Kahlo's paintings. I read Frida Kahlo's life two years ago. She had been through so many things with ups and downs. This book summarizes her life perfectly for both adults and children (even though it is for kids!) I really enjoyed the book on every page.

Wonderful little children’s book explaining Frida Kahlo’s life and her animals. The illustrations are colorful and eye catching. I enjoyed how the author explained about Kahlo’s life growing up until she is older and how her animalitos were always with her and in her paintings. It shows that even though she had hardships in her life she made the best of it.

“Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?”

A cute introduction to the great Frida Khalo. The book gives a brief child-friendly understanding of Frida and how she was independent and creative regardless of the troubles she faced. Thanks to NorthSouth Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

Frida was an amazing woman and I loved this little book! The artwork was beautiful and vibrant enough to keep any child’s attention. I loved how her personality was described through comparisons to her pets. It was also nice that there was a more mature synopsis of her life at the end of the book.

This is a gorgeously illustrated, inspiring children's book on the life of Frida Kahlo. I am familiar with her art work and knew she loved animals, but I did not know about her illnesses and how much her animals inspired her. When Frida had an illness, she took that time to be creative and create art, even as a child. This book is an excellent way to expose children to a creative and famous artist. Fabulous book!

Thank you to Monica Brown, the publisher, and Netgalley, for the opportunity to read and review this wondrous book.

I really enjoy Monica Brown books and previously used her works in my 2nd grade curriculum:
- My Name is Celia: The Life of Celia Cruz
- Side by Side/Lado a Lado: The Story of Delores Huerta and Cesar Chavez
- Tito Puente, Mambo King/Tito Puente, Rey del Mambo
- Pelé, King of Soccer/Pelé, el rey del fútbol (especially loved by students)

My students always loved the vibrant colors and illustrations, often excitedly pointing out some visual details that connected with the narrative. One of the best moments I had teaching second grade was when a student quoted Brown's Pele book to connection Pele with Cesar Chavez. He earnestly explained to the class that while it was sad that they had passed away, "their spirits live on" in our hearts.

This book similarly blends engaging illustrations with a creative narrative. I appreciate how this book takes a different approach in connecting the major events in her life with animals. I feel the narrative could have used more important details about Kahlo's life for readers to really understand her hardships. This book could be used as a simple introduction to Frida Kahlo.

I received an ebook copy of this via Netgalley.

This is a beautifully illustrated book, which feels fitting for a children's picture book about an artist.

I was hoping this would be a good storytime book, but it is a bit too wordy to be used for the really young kids who attend our storytime. It would probably work well as a read aloud for Hispanic Heritage month for school age children.

It is very pretty and careful to be a bit spare with some of the harder details of Frida's life. There is a biographical section at the end of the book that you could use with older children.

Overall I felt this was a very pretty book. I didn't enjoy the text quite as much as I enjoyed the pictures. The text is a bit longer than necessary and somewhat repetitive. However, that thought may stem from me wishing it was a less wordy book in the first place.

I love the illustrations! They really capture the spirit of the art of Frida Kahlo. I think focusing on the animals is a really clever way to introduce young readers to Kahlo as a person and an artist.

The illustrations are perfect, and this is a great introduction to an amazing woman and outstanding artist for kids and adults alike.

A picture book biography of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo that highlights her childhood and teen years (and some adult life too) through the lens of the pets she kept and how she was like some of them.

What a unique perspective on Frida Kahlo! There have been a couple other picture book biographies of Frida that came out in the last decade so I was honestly wondering if we even needed another one. But this was spectacular. Anyone who has a household with a parrot, a breed of Aztec dogs, a cat, turkeys, a fawn, and monkeys is bound to capture the interest of kids. It sounds almost too crazy to be true. But it totally is, and that makes it all the more enthralling. (Beware parents and guardians, you better start practicing your response to the child with the big sad puppy dog eyes begging for their own monkey, or turkey, or deer before reading this.) The animal focus and the use of similes to compare the animals’ characteristics with Frida’s brought up aspects of Frida Kahlo’s personality and stories from her childhood none of the other books have touched on. (Riding down the school hallway on donkeys and setting off firecrackers!) This will definitely grab the attention of readers. Kids will be enchanted by the various animals she had as pets and will start hunting down Kahlo’s artwork in which they appear (there’s a list in the back of the book along with some further information on Kahlo and her pets). The illustration style is charming. And this is definitely a great addition to the world of children’s lit and a very memorable picture book biography. So glad our library has a copy already on order. Art teachers can obviously use this for an artist highlight or looking at animals in art, and language arts teachers, there's some fantastic usage of similes throughout. Highly recommended for anyone.

This is such a sweet book, and certainly not only for children but everyone who wants to know more about the fascinating Frida Kahlo. The illustration is perfect, and the idea to tell her life by introducing her pets is both cute and clever.

This picture book biography focuses on Frida Kahlo’s lifelong relationship with animals. As a child she had a blue parrot, the color of the home she grew up in. She also had a fawn and a cat. But when Frida was six, she got very ill and had to stay in bed for a long time. Her illness caused one of her legs to be different from the other, but once she was better it didn’t slow her down at all. Frida also had an eagle, two monkeys, two turkeys and three dogs. Her animals had a place in their garden to play, designed by Diego Rivera, Frida’s husband. As she painted, her animals stayed around her and appeared in her self portraits.

Brown uses the animals in Kahlo’s life to point out specific characteristics of her personality, each tied to a specific pet. This strengthens Kahlo’s already strong connection to her animals and makes it more clear for the reader as well. Parra’s illustrations are done on board. They have an appealing combination of organic feel, connection to nature and folk images. An appealing and unique look at Frida Kahlo. Appropriate for ages 6-9.

Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos by Monica Brown is the story of legendary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo from early childhood into adulthood. We learn that Frida developed her love of painting after a series of accidents and illnesses. Considering the true story, I'm glad this version is watered down for children.

One particular part of the story mentions Frida's legs being different, it talks of children making fun of her and how this didn't stop her. I would have loved for the book to go a little bit further and explain what was different about her legs as a child. My daughter pointed this out to me, as she wanted to know why her legs were different. Instead of saying "she had a sickness"-- I believe saying she had 'polio' would have been helpful. I see no problem with young children knowing about the disease. 

The illustrations are gorgeous. Bold beautiful colors parallel some of Kahlo's own work. The bold use of colorful, reminiscent of Mexican art, only enhances this story's beauty. I would want to own this book for the illustrations alone. 

The back of the book features a biography that you can read to your child if you choose. I appreciated the additional information, I don't know much about Kahlo, but I am prompted to now learn more about her because of this book.

I would have loved a few additional pages featuring some of Kahlo' s work. Hopefully, there is a children's publisher waiting in the wings to get this done.

I would have also loved footnotes for pronunciation purposes. The biggest thing I love doing is teaching my children how to pronounce or sound out words. Learning new words is always a challenge--a key would be helpful. 

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.