Vamos! Let's Go to the Market

Vamos! Let's Go to the Market
Author: Raul the Third
Rating: 3/5 Stars
Reviewer: Yolanda

Summary: Little Lobo and Bernabé show us their morning routine starting with Kooky Dooky waking them up. They eat huevos and make their way to their warehouse to gather up deliveries they need to take to the Mercado. They show how everyone has a job at La Placita or at the Mercado. They stop to watch performers and to say hi to friends. They also make stops to make deliveries to Chiva’s Zonkey, Yerbería Azteca, Mr. Mosca’s Dulcería, Sombrero Stacks, and many more. Little Lobo and Bernabé explore the Mercados many booths and shops!


Review: This book is very busy with images and words. There are many Spanish words all around, but are translated in English for everyone to understand. The storyline is very cute and shows how a fox and his dog go to work and hangout with their many friends throughout the market. This is a very cute book, but very busy to look at. It feels like an Ispy book with a storyline.

All American Muslim Girl
Author: Nadine Jolie Courtney
Rating: 5/5 Stars

Summary: Allie Abraham has it all going for her—she's a straight-A student, with good friends and a close-knit family, and she's dating cute, popular, and sweet Wells Henderson. One problem: Wells's father is Jack Henderson, America's most famous conservative shock jock...and Allie hasn't told Wells that her family is Muslim. It's not like Allie's religion is a secret, exactly. It's just that her parents don't practice and raised her to keep her Islamic heritage to herself. But as Allie witnesses ever-growing Islamophobia in her small town and across the nation, she begins to embrace her faith—studying it, practicing it, and facing hatred and misunderstanding for it. Who is Allie, if she sheds the façade of the "perfect" all-American girl? What does it mean to be a "Good Muslim?" And can a Muslim girl in America ever truly fit in? ALL-AMERICAN MUSLIM GIRL is a relevant, relatable story of being caught between two worlds, and the struggles and hard-won joys of finding your place.

Review: All American Muslim Girl, rounded out my year in audiobooks. I originally had this on my list to read, after reading reviews of the title in SLJ. I knew that I would never have enough time to read it, so I decided to request the audiobook. Come to find out, Priya Ayyar is the narrator and she is one of my favorites. It did not disappoint!

This story hit pretty close to home for me, so it was a joy to listen to. We learn about Allie Abraham, coming of age, in a world full of hatred for the Islamic religion. She learns a little more about herself on every page of the book. She battles love, hate, friendship, religion, and family. She grows up in a mixed race family and a non-religious one at that. She was never taught her father’s mother tongue and is struggling with every part of herself when she turns 16. A time to reflect and find out who she truly is and who she wants to be. Allie secretly starts to join in the religion, learn a language that is so close to home for her, stand up for herself and speak out, all while newly dating a classmate who she comes to find out, she should not be dating for multiple reasons.


This book was beautifully written and beautifully read. I would highly recommend the story and would be interested in listening to it again when my daughter is older.

Tucky Jo and Little Heart

Tucky Jo and Little Heart
Author: Patricia Polacco
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Reviewer: Christi

Summary: A fifteen-year-old soldier in World War II meets a sweet young girl in the Philippines who helps him remember what he is fighting for as he helps her and others of her village avoid starvation, and many years later she returns his kindness. 

Review:  Get out the Kleenex. This story will inspire you to always keep your heart open because sometimes the smallest thing will remind you why you’re here. The author did an amazing job of telling one soldiers story.  Johnnie is a 15 year old boy from Kentucky that’s fighting in World War II in the jungle. As he fights to not let the despair of that get to him he has to deal with the day to day troubles- like the fact that the ground is damp and mushy and the soldiers feet are never dry, he’s exhausted, and worst of all is the bugs (the size of your hand) stinging him and covering him in welts. One day he turns around and finds a little girl staring at him. Johnnie drank her in because looking at that innocent tiny girl gave him a peace he hadn’t felt in a long time. She picked a plant and showed him how to help his bug bites with the goo from the plant. He tried to tell her his name “Kentucky Jo” that’s what the other soldiers called him. She couldn’t speak his language so when he saw the heart shaped birthmark on her arm he named her “Little Heart”. When she finally tried to say his name it came out like “Tucky Jo”. He whittled her a doll and tried brighten up her and his life by watching her smile. He would bring her food for her village from his k rations. He even helped her village get food from the river. Eventually it was time to go home and for years he wondered about Little Heart. As he got older his eyesight and hearing were almost gone and he couldn’t afford to fix it. One day at the Veterans hospital he came across a new nurse. She told him that she’d had a meeting with specialist and they would take his case for free and get him the expensive medicine he needed. When he asked why are doing this for me she showed him her little heart birthmark and said I’m going to take care of you like you did for me so long ago. She had looked for him too for years in hope she could thank him for his kindness.  This would be a great read aloud to a class learning about the war or even as a gift to a military family. A must read! 

Creepy Chicago

Creepy Chicago

Author: Krystyna Poray Goddu

Rating: 5/5 Stars

Reviewer: Christi

Summary: A dark street curves around Lake Michigan to a cemetery. A cold wind blows. Mist rises from the lake. Suddenly, you feel you are not alone. Is somebody? or something? hiding in the mist? Get ready to read four chilling tales about Chicago's spookiest spots.

Review: I really enjoyed this nonfiction ghost book. It isn’t a big book so it’s great to grab and skim and is filled with very interesting facts. It’s almost as much a history book as a ghost book. I found out things about the Linkin Park Zoo I was completely unaware and I have read quite a few haunted Chicago books. There was also interesting (and heartbreaking) history of the Chicago River. This fall why not grab a ghost book that won’t keep you up at night.

Where Oliver Fits

Where Oliver Fits
Author: Cale Atkinson
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Reviewer: Yolanda

Summary: Oliver is a puzzle. As he looks around other puzzle pieces have found a group of friends they fit in with. Oliver tries to be part of a pirate puzzle, but doesn’t quite fit in. He attempts a variety of other pictures with no luck. He eventually he is so frustrated he decides to tape and glue himself up in attempt to change who he is. That still doesn’t help. Will he ever find a place he belongs?

Review: This book is one of my favorites because of its theme, acceptance. Not only acceptance within a group, but within yourself. Oliver tries his hardest to fit in, but all he had to do was be patient and wait to find where he truly belonged. Once he finds it, the pure joy of the realization makes the whole story so beautiful. The illustrations are also beautiful and make it so fun to read.

This Book of Mine

This Book of Mine
Author: Sarah Stewart
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Reviewer: Denise Z.

Summary: Illustrations and easy-to-read text celebrate the connection between diverse readers of all ages and the books they enjoy.

Review: Sarah Stewart’s picture book is an ode to books and all they provide. This would be a great book to read to a child who adores books and to children who need to understand the power of books. I really liked how it was shown how all the ways books help us along the way in life and how it encourages reading and all the things that can be inspired through books.

Nope. Never. Not for Me!

Nope. Never. Not for Me!
Author: Samantha Cotterill
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Reviewer: Julie B.

Summary: A little girl is hesitant to eat her broccoli. After her mom makes it fun, the girl learns to try new things.

Review: This book is one of the “Little Senses” series. It is written in simple text and very light hearted. Cotterill does a nice job using humor in both the story and illustrations. I was attracted to picture on the cover of the book as it reminded me of my daughter at that age poking at the “strange” (mushrooms) food on her plate. Many meet resistance when trying to encourage their child to try a new food. I loved reading this book and will read the others in the series.