Monday, October 31, 2016

Juana & Lucas by Juana Medina - ADVISABLE


Medina, Juana Juana & Lucas, 90 pgs. Candlewick, 2016. $14.99. Content: G. 

Juana loves a lot of things, especially her dog Lucas, her mom, drawing, Bogota and Astroman.  But she doesn’t love Mr. Tompkin’s class, because he is teaching the English!  English is hard and confusing and she has to make sounds like TH which make her tongue tickle.  She’s hoping to get any of the adults in her life to give her a good reason not to learn the English, but no luck. In fact, her Abuelo announces that he’s taking her on a trip to the U.S. of A. (Florida) to Spaceland where she can meet her hero! But her mom won’t let her go unless she gets good grades and that means she’ll have to practice the English!  

A fun beginning chapterbook, this multicultural young reader has a great mix of Spanish (cognates mostly) and English.  I sort of expected Lucas to take a larger role, it’s not really about a girl and her dog, it’s about a girl learning English.  Ironic that the book is already in English, making an interesting juxtaposition for the reader.  

EL  (K-3)- ADVISABLE  Lisa Librarian

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