CARNAVAL relates the story of Olinda, one town in Brazil, as they celebrate the festival of carnaval.  Ancona is the photographer of the colorful visuals accompanying each page of his text.  He begins by telling the reader that carnaval is a five-day celebration of the varied cultures that make up Brazil: African, European, and indigenous.  From the very first page, Ancona’s photos show the variation among the Brazilians celebrating carnaval.  There are young and old, male and female, dark, medium and light skinned people.  Ancona shows them all. 

In the weeks before carnaval, the town begins its preparations. Ancona shows people practicing dances, making costumes, and literally singing in the streets.  The adults as well as the children beam with pride when showcasing their costumes and banners.  Ancona also shows some of the craftsman at work on masks and puppets.  His portraits of the people at work skillfully show their pride as well as their concentration and skill.

Here, when Ancona introduces a Spanish word, he defines it directly the first time he uses it.  This style may seem repetitive for some bilingual readers familiar with the terms, but in an informative nonfiction book such as this, it does not seem forced or out of place.

Ancona also introduces the reader to the most famous puppets in Olinda, and gives the fun fact that the two puppets were actually “married in a midnight ceremony in front of a church.  The entire town attended.”  This phrase alone gives the reader an idea of what the people of Olinda are like.  He tells of two of the most common dances in Olinda’s carnaval: the frevo and the maracatu, and their distinct features and backgrounds.  These descriptions are accompanied by photographs of children in costume performing the dances to the beat of various musicians. 

When the party really starts, Ancona moves to a kind of collage style of photos that show the crowds as well as some of the individual characters in the parade.  Again, all ages and colors are shown, this time sweaty, dancing, and smiling.  Variations of the costume themes are shown and discussed in the next few pages.  The last two-page spread shows a calm, monochromatic picture of sunrise on Ash Wednesday.  It is the perfect photo to convey the “sleepy” feel of the morning after the party.  Ancona ends with saying, “It’s hard to stop when you’re having so much fun!”  The same can be said for the adventure of reading Ancona’s book, CARNAVAL.  The reader will surely be eager to seek out more of his work.