(4) K-3 Illustrated by Lee Chapman. Young Pablo must care for his family when his father temporarily leaves Mexico to work in the United States. As Christmas arrives, Pablo encourages his unhappy mother and sisters to create a festive atmosphere; when their father comes home unexpectedly, the whole family is ready to celebrate. Colorful paintings (some verging on caricature) mimic Mexican folk art.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Lee Chapman. When an elderly couple is kind to some farm animals seeking shelter from the cold night, the animals repay their kindness handsomely. This meandering, nonsensical story takes many folktale elements--talking animals, an evil farmer, robbers, and foolish but kind protagonists--and combines them in an original tale. Chapman's boldly colored paintings are as outrageous as the story.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Lee Chapman. Eight animals head to the parque to play a game of baseball. The sometimes awkwardly rhyming text is peppered with Spanish vocabulary words, including such terminology as jonrón for "home run." Vibrant oil pastel illustrations enliven the singsongy text. Glossary/pronunciation guide.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Lee Chapman. Eight animals get together to bake a cake, only to drop it as they take it out of the oven. Cow saves the day by sending bird out for pineapple to make a pineapple upside-down cake. The rhyming text, which intersperses Spanish words throughout, is sometimes awkward. The lively illustrations lean toward a palette of oranges and reds. A recipe for pineapple upside-down cake and a glossary of Spanish words are included.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Lee Chapman. Eight animals head to market to shop for their supper in this Spanish vocabulary lesson. The rhyming text is spiced with over forty Spanish words, mostly numbers and names of animals and food. ("Cat wants to buy a bottle of milk. / 'Leche,' purrs Gato, as smoothly as silk.") The illustrations, inspired by Mexican folk art, play with the text, adding funny details. A glossary/pronunciation guide is appended.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza