Sofía’s best realization is that her new lifestyle can lead to other positive accomplishments, which helps to cut the...
A quinceañera and a special purple dress serve as inspiration for a little girl to change her lifestyle with exercise and healthier foods.
Third-grader Sofía is used to wearing her older cousin Rosario's hand-me-down sweaters and shirts, but when a beautifully fitted dress especially given to her for Rosario’s upcoming event is much too tight, her mother gently notes that Sofía has “a little extra here and there.” Losing weight is not easy, but Mom suggests that she and sister Mari can do it together by exercising and eliminating sodas and junk food. Despite some initial grumbling, for the next two months, Sofía, Mari and Mom begin to walk to and from school, eat fruits and veggies for snacks, enjoy dancing to music at home, and have fun ice skating. The happy result is a leaner and more energetic Sofía wearing her fitted dress proudly at Rosario’s party. A combination of collage, acrylic and crayon delineate a richly bronze-toned and dark-haired Latino family in daily life, all shopping, playing and working together to reach a goal. Plump round faces and bellies gradually slim down, with happy smiles all around. The dialogue-driven bilingual English/Spanish text emphasizes that hard work, moral support and determination can successfully meet a challenge.
Sofía’s best realization is that her new lifestyle can lead to other positive accomplishments, which helps to cut the didacticism of this good-hearted book. (activity sheet) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: May 31, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-55885-701-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2012
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones.
Hill and Bobbiesi send a humungous hug from grandmothers to their granddaughters everywhere.
Delicate cartoon art adds details to the rhyming text showing multigenerational commonalities. “You and I are alike in such wonderful ways. / You will see more and more as you grow” (as grandmother and granddaughter enjoy the backyard together); “I wobbled uncertainly just as you did / whenever I tried something new” (as a toddler takes first steps); “And if a bad dream woke me up in the night, / I snuggled up with my lovey too” (grandmother kisses granddaughter, who clutches a plush narwhal). Grandmother-granddaughter pairs share everyday joys like eating ice cream, dancing “in the rain,” and making “up silly games.” Although some activities skew stereotypically feminine (baking, yoga), a grandmother helps with a quintessential volcano experiment (this pair presents black, adding valuable STEM representation), another cheers on a young wheelchair athlete (both present Asian), and a third, wearing a hijab, accompanies her brown-skinned granddaughter on a peace march, as it is “important to speak out for what you believe.” The message of unconditional love is clear throughout: “When you need me, I’ll be there to listen and care. / There is nothing that keeps us apart.” The finished book will include “stationery…for a special letter from Grandma to you!”
This multigenerational snuggle will encourage the sharing of old memories and the creation of new ones. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-7282-0623-3
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers.
Two little rats decide to show the world how tough they are, with unpredictable results.
Louie and Ralphie Ratso want to be just like their single dad, Big Lou: tough! They know that “tough” means doing mean things to other animals, like stealing Chad Badgerton’s hat. Chad Badgerton is a big badger, so taking that hat from him proves that Louie and Ralphie are just as tough as they want to be. However, it turns out that Louie and Ralphie have just done a good deed instead of a bad one: Chad Badgerton had taken that hat from little Tiny Crawley, a mouse, so when Tiny reclaims it, they are celebrated for goodness rather than toughness. Sadly, every attempt Louie and Ralphie make at doing mean things somehow turns nice. What’s a little boy rat supposed to do to be tough? Plus, they worry about what their dad will say when he finds out how good they’ve been. But wait! Maybe their dad has some other ideas? LaReau keeps the action high and completely appropriate for readers embarking on chapter books. Each of the first six chapters features a new, failed attempt by Louie and Ralphie to be mean, and the final, seventh chapter resolves everything nicely. The humor springs from their foiled efforts and their reactions to their failures. Myers’ sprightly grayscale drawings capture action and characters and add humorous details, such as the Ratsos’ “unwelcome” mat.
A nicely inventive little morality “tail” for newly independent readers. (Fiction. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7636-0
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
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