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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Carlos Santana was raised steeped in music. His father played violin for a living and taught his son to do the same. But the instrument didn’t speak to young Carlos. Neither did playing the same mariachi songs over and over for tourists. Carlos longed to play an electric guitar and the blues music he’d heard on the radio from artists like Muddy Waters and B.B. King. And eventually he would, going on to craft his own unique sound after moving to the United States. It was a sound that blended his Mexican roots with American tradition: “a new flavor of rock and roll, charged with Latin passion and the raw honesty of American blues.” Dazzling mixed media illustrations full of color and a sweeping sense of movement accompany a narrative focused on Santana’s feelings about music, and his relationship to his father around music, as a child. An informative author’s note, a personal note from the illustrator sharing his connection with Santana’s music, glossary, and sources conclude the volume. (Ages 7–11)

CCBC Choices 2019 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2019. Used with permission.

From Horn Book

January 1, 2019
Golio presents an account of Santana's boyhood growing up in the birthplace of mariachi music--Jalisco, Mexico--and later moving with his family to Tijuana, where his father buys him his first guitar. The biography focuses on the centrality of family, despite Santana's at-times contentious relationship with his father. Brown faces predominate in the swirling, psychedelic, sixties-inspired acrylic illustrations. An author's note contextualizes Santana's place in American pop culture. Bib., glos.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From Horn Book

November 1, 2018
When Angels Sing: The Story of Rock Legend Carlos Santana by Michael Mahin; illus. by Jose Ramirez Primary Atheneum 48 pp.?9/18 978-1-5344-0413-7 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-1-5344-0414-4 $10.99 Carlos Santana's 1971 rendition of Tito Puente's classic Latin jazz anthem Oye Como Va still elicits instant recognition, perhaps because Santana's signature guitar communicates the essence of Latino sabor. Two new picture-book biographies center Santana's formative years and the experiences that shaped his musical coraz�n. In Carlos Santana, Golio presents a chronological account of Santana's boyhood growing up in the birthplace of mariachi music?Jalisco, Mexico?where his father teaches him to read music and play violin, and later buys him his first guitar. The acute pain of separation felt when Pap� is gone?sometimes for months??earning money balances against Gutierrez's tender and realistic rendering of Santana's mother, who moves her family to Tijuana to seek a better life. Brown faces predominate in the swirling, psychedelic, sixties-inspired acrylic illustrations, illuminating the centrality of family despite Santana's at-times contentious relationship with his father. In When Angels Sing, Mahin's staccato second-person text ( One day, you went to Aquatic Park. Los congas rumbled into your chest. There was magic in their beat. A breath. A breeze. A feeling ) lends immediacy to his account of Santana's youth. Mahin relates the boy's experiences of migration (first within Mexico and then to San Francisco), racial discrimination, and poverty in a manner both accessible and deep. He shows how Santana's brother's activism and determination during California's 1960s farmworkers' struggle inspires Santana to keep playing guitar and never give up ( If they can, I can ). Ramirez's full-bleed Mexican-folk-art-influenced acrylic and enamel marker illustrations expertly capture mood and propel the narrative forward, subtly incorporating year stamps on many spreads to mark the passage of time. While both books cover similar events in Santana's boyhood, Mahin's buoyant and lyrical storytelling allows the reader closer proximity to the musician's world. Author's notes and bibliographies in each book contextualize Santana's place in American popular culture; Golio's book also appends a glossary. lettycia terrones

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From School Library Journal

October 1, 2018

Gr 1-4-Born in Jalisco, Mexico, Carlos Santana grew up worshipping his father, a mariachi musician who taught his son to play the violin and encouraged him to follow in his footsteps. However, the future icon grew to resent the music that took his father away from the family for months at a time. After a family move to Tijuana, young Santana heard rhythm and blues on the radio and it became a siren song to him, a call to play the electric guitar and fuse this music with the traditions that he learned as a child. While the text tells a fairly straightforward and detailed account of Santana's life, it is the artwork (created by the same artist who did cover art for Santana's Shaman album) that is full of vivid, flowing colors that shine as it captures the soul of Santana and his work. The triumphs of the guitarist's musical life, including his first big breakthrough at Woodstock, are relegated to the author's note, cutting the story off just when he reaches a pinnacle. VERDICT A worthy addition to most biography collections that is perfect for sharing, especially paired with samples of his music.-Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Kirkus

August 1, 2018
A vibrantly illustrated biography of the groundbreaking musician.Carlos Santana is born in Jalisco, Mexico, in 1947. His young life is spent watching his musician father and playing alongside him but never being satisfied. His father is a mariachi player who travels often, but Carlos is more inspired by the blues music he's hearing from north of the border. When his father leaves to work in the United States, Carlos is free to set his violin down and pick up an electric guitar. As he grows as a musician, he develops a sound that marries traditional Mexican music with American jazz and blues. Sweeping, colorful illustrations by the artist who designed one of Santana's album covers convey mood well and recall Mexican murals. The pictures invite a wide age range of readers, but the text, written in present and future tense, is awkward and reads like an encyclopedia entry rather than a narrative. Points of interest, from struggling to make ends meet to tourists being cruel, are lost rather than elaborated upon.A product ultimately unworthy of the celebrated subject it covers. (glossary, author's note, bibliography) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

From Booklist

Starred review from August 1, 2018
Grades 2-5 *Starred Review* This wonderful picture-book biography is an example of how words and illustrations can come together to create an immersive experience that will captivate readers and bring them to a greater understanding of an artist?in this case, Carlos Santana. The lyrical text, written in present tense, helps audiences participate in Carlos' musical journey as he grows from a 6-year-old violinist to a 10-year-old street musician playing for tourists on the streets of Tijuana to a young teen performing with Papa's mariachi band, playing traditional tunes in smoky cantinas. Carlos longs to play the music that has captured his imagination?�magical American blues from Muddy Waters and B. B. King?but his father will have none of it. When Carlos turns 15, something miraculous happens: Papa relents and sends Carlos a used electric guitar, launching a career filled with songs famous for their fusion of rock, blues, jazz, and traditional Latin elements. The swirling illustrations mimic the ebb and flow of grown-up Carlos' band, Santana, evoking its signature sound. The page-filling paintings employ muted colors and design elements that reflect traditional Mexican folk art. This book is a pleasure to read aloud, and the pictures transmit an infectious joy. A fitting tribute to a ground-breaking musician. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)