by Diane Gonzales Bertrand & illustrated by Christina Rodriguez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 31, 2011
The dual message of nutrition and diversity will probably find its place in today’s curriculum and can certainly augment...
On the first day of her new school, Adelita learns that vegetables can have similarities and differences, as can new friends.
Nervous about being new, Adelita quietly observes her welcoming teacher lead a lesson on the colors, names and health benefits of vegetables. Last to take a vegetable from the teacher’s basket, Adelita is surprised by friendly Jasmine, who offers her a choice between yellow and green squash, calling them “cousins.” Reminded of her grandmother’s term, Adelita calls them “calabacitas,” and Jasmine proclaims how they rhyme with her pretty name, Adelita. The dialogue-driven text is rendered in both English and Spanish, which are separated by pictures of cooked and uncooked vegetables. The text appears opposite deeply hued, realistic classroom scenes that bring out a learning environment populated by a multicultural group of kids, including a boy in a wheelchair. Other vegetables used in Latino cuisine—cassava, malanga, yautía and sweet potato—are also woven into the discussion. As the day’s healthy-eating lesson comes to a close, friendships grow and expand into reading-circle time; Adelita and her classmates parallel a “rainbow of vegetables” as veggie friends.
The dual message of nutrition and diversity will probably find its place in today’s curriculum and can certainly augment units on food, language and culture. (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-55885-699-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Piñata Books/Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2011
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by Diane Gonzales Bertrand ; illustrated by Carolyn Dee Flores ; translated by Rossy Lima-Padilla
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by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Lauren Eldridge ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 20, 2017
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted...
Reinvention is the name of the game for two blobs of clay.
A blue-eyed gray blob and a brown-eyed brown blob sit side by side, unsure as to what’s going to happen next. The gray anticipates an adventure, while the brown appears apprehensive. A pair of hands descends, and soon, amid a flurry of squishing and prodding and poking and sculpting, a handsome gray wolf and a stately brown owl emerge. The hands disappear, leaving the friends to their own devices. The owl is pleased, but the wolf convinces it that the best is yet to come. An ear pulled here and an extra eye placed there, and before you can shake a carving stick, a spurt of frenetic self-exploration—expressed as a tangled black scribble—reveals a succession of smug hybrid beasts. After all, the opportunity to become a “pig-e-phant” doesn’t come around every day. But the sound of approaching footsteps panics the pair of Picassos. How are they going to “fix [them]selves” on time? Soon a hippopotamus and peacock are staring bug-eyed at a returning pair of astonished hands. The creative naiveté of the “clay mates” is perfectly captured by Petty’s feisty, spot-on dialogue: “This was your idea…and it was a BAD one.” Eldridge’s endearing sculpted images are photographed against the stark white background of an artist’s work table to great effect.
The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: June 20, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-316-30311-8
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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by Dev Petty ; illustrated by Mike Boldt
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by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Barbara Szepesi Szucs ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 25, 2019
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Kevin Hong
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by Christina Soontornvat ; illustrated by Kevin Hong
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