(2) YA Manzano (Sesame Street's recently retired Maria) recounts her Bronx childhood and adolescence in first-person, present-tense narration. After an intentionally disjointed beginning--vignettes shift among her father's drunken abuse, her mother's love, their unstable living situation--the story gains coherence as it progresses, ending when she auditions for Sesame Street. Manzano's writing is lyrical and accessible, laced with fear, confusion, love, anger (and a number of f-bombs).

Reviewer: Randy Ribay | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2015

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Marjorie Priceman. When the Christmas Eve roast won't fit in their tiny oven, José suggests they use a pizza oven; he and Papi head to Regular Ray's Pizzeria. Nearly everyone is curmudgeonly along the way until the roast's aroma knocks some holiday cheer into them. A cheerful Christmas story notable for its nonchalantly multiethnic cast and vibrant urban setting, brought to life in bright, swirling illustrations.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2015

(2) YA Fourteen-year-old Evelyn Serrano has to give up her bedroom when her charismatic but opinionated grandmother (abuela) arrives from Puerto Rico. Abuela becomes involved with the Young Lords, a radical Puerto Rican Nationalist group of Spanish Harlem; Evelyn becomes increasingly radicalized and joins a protest occupation. Based on true events, the 1969-set story develops organically through well-realized fictional characters dealing with complex family dynamics. Reading list.

Reviewer: Kathleen T. Horning | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2012

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Matt Phelan. Despite the title, this scattered story only nominally concerns kittens: three of them distract Ruthie from tending to her pregnant aunt and she misses the baby's birth. Ultimately, her aunt credits Ruthie's errand-running with prompting the birth and honors Ruthie with being the first to hold the baby. Phelan's lighthearted pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations are the book's highlight.

Reviewer: Abby Harper Kingsbury

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Jon J Muth. Using language too sophisticated for a seven-year-old, Iris describes the day when she and her Bronx-based family, neighbors, and dog nearly didn't get to enjoy a day at the lake because of a no-dogs sign. The plot is a red herring: the book's main pleasure is its depiction of a joyful Puerto Rican community. Muth's busy watercolors somehow keep up with the frantic cast.

Reviewer: Nell Beram