This is another very rare one, and unfortunately I don't remember much about it. I've tried to find it for decades; I'm hoping to find it before my son is too old to enjoy it.

It was a large book, illustrated - almost certainly in black and white, and probably by the author - about the adventures of a young Mexican boy in Mexico. I remember that he had a small dog who played a large role in the book. I don't think it was a picture book, though; more like a cross between a picture book and a chapter book. I'm pretty sure that the copy I read was oversized.

Someone, probably the boy or the dog, might have been named "Pedro". And I have a vague memory that the boy's father played a role in the book too.

The story itself was not particularly action-oriented, if memory serves; more than anything else it was the story of some days in the life of a young boy (aged 6-10?) in Mexico.

In my search I found another book which had many of the same elements, but I'm sure that was not the right book.

I read it when I was very young (call it the late 1960s), and I'm reasonably sure that the book wasn't brand new. I think it was a library book. So it could have been written any time from the 1940s to the early 1960s (or possibly earlier). But my gut feeling is that it was probably written in the 1950s.

Can anyone help?

This sounds familiar to me, only I feel like it was the name "Pablo"??? You might check this list of Jean Charlot's illustrated works:

http://128.171.57.100/libdept/charlotcol...

I'm envisioning line drawings, and maybe the boy wore a sombrero?

Kate wrote: "This sounds familiar to me, only I feel like it was the name "Pablo"??? You might check this list of Jean Charlot's illustrated works:

http://128.171.57.100/libdept/charlotcoll/J_Charlot/charlot..."

Sombreros were DEFINITELY in the book - I'd forgotten about that! And it's certainly possible that the name was Pablo. I think you've put me on the right trail! Thanks - I'll post here once I've found out for sure.

I think it might be Pedro by Marjorie Flack -- I'm going right now to take a look at it.

Nancy wrote: "I think it might be Pedro by Marjorie Flack -- I'm going right now to take a look at it."

Nope--I was wrong...

Okay--another idea: Watchdog by Laura Bannon, Albert Whitman, 1948. "Picture Book Hardback. Many glowing pictures of a traditional Mexican village on 16 de septiembre illustrate this story of Alberto and his dog." "Alberto wants the little terrier puppy (looks like a wire hair fox terrier) more than anything, but his family is poor and cannot afford to buy it. Wonderful things happen at the Fiesta, however, and it is there that Alberto discovers how to buy the little dog he has already named Homer." "A story about a celebration, a boy and a little sister, a big bird and a tiny dog. Alberto wants the small dog he finds in the pet store.."

It turns out I was thinking of Gilberto and the Wind...

Kate wrote: "It turns out I was thinking of Gilberto and the Wind..."

By Marie Hall Ets? She's one of my favorite authors for children, but that's not the book.

Is it one of Tomie dePaola's books?

Faith and the Electric dogs?

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59313...

Katelyn wrote: "http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/593132.Faith_And_The_Electric_Dogs"

I'm afraid not, but thanks for trying. This was a rather old book; probably early 1950s at the very latest. And there wasn't any fantasy element. The dog couldn't talk or really understand language (beyond the extend that real dogs do, that is).

Could it be Leo Politi's The Nicest Gift? Politi's characters are often Mexican Americans in Los Angeles. It was written in 1973 and here's the plot: A little boy living in a Los Angeles barrio is desolate when Christmas Day arrives and his lost dog still hasn't been found. http://www.goodreads.com/search/search?s...

Krista the Krazy Kataloguer wrote: "Could it be Leo Politi's The Nicest Gift? Politi's characters are often Mexican Americans in Los Angeles. It was written in 1973 and here's the plot: A little boy living in a Los Angeles barrio i..."

No, I'm afraid not - this book was definitely set in Mexico, not America. And I'm pretty sure it must have been written sometime between 1950 and 1965.

Krista the Krazy Kataloguer wrote: "Could it be Leo Politi's The Nicest Gift? Politi's characters are often Mexican Americans in Los Angeles. It was written in 1973 and here's the plot: A little boy living in a Los Angeles barrio i..."

No, I'm afraid not - this book was definitely set in Mexico, not America. And I'm pretty sure it must have been written sometime between 1950 and 1965.

Peter wrote: "Krista the Krazy Kataloguer wrote: "Could it be Leo Politi's The Nicest Gift? Politi's characters are often Mexican Americans in Los Angeles. It was written in 1973 and here's the plot: A little ..."

No, I'm afraid not - this book was definitely set in Mexico, not America. And I'm pretty sure that it must have been written between 1950 and 1965. But thank you for trying!

Amigo, 1963

Author:Illustrated by Garth Williams

Summary:A Mexican boy makes a prairie dog into a pet.

Publication Information:Macmillan 1963. 41p.

Other Contributors:Williams, Garth, 1912-1996, illus

Notes:Some copies issued under Scholastic imprint.

Reading Level:Younger Kids

ISBN:Fiction/Nonfiction:FictionAuthor

Information:All books by: Schweitzer, Byrd