(4) PS Illustrated by Elizabeth Gomez. In this predictable bilingual book, five-year-old Luna is nervous about her first day of school. That night her mother reads her "a story about a little monster who goes to school." The next morning Luna is afraid of monsters in her class; of course, she overcomes her fear. The bold folk-art-style illustrations creatively convey Luna's growing confidence.

Reviewer: Tim Wadham

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Elizabeth Gomez. "Here in the city there are wonders everywhere / Here mangoes / come in cans / In El Salvador / they grew on trees." These bilingual poems depict the poet's childhood in San Francisco's Mission District, where he and his family lived after escaping the civil war in El Salvador. Gómez's illustrations blend dreams and reality, bringing depth to the sometimes pedestrian poems.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Elizabeth Gomez. A renowned Mexican-American poet writes about his childhood in this bilingual book. When Juanito's migrant worker family settles down in the city so he can go to school for the first time, he becomes the confused "upside down boy" in the English-speaking school. Herrera's poetic prose sings with a unique voice in both languages, and Gómez's illustrations are colorful and ethereal.

Reviewer: Elena Abos Alvarez-Buiza | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2000