Published by Schwartz & Wade

Summary:  Sweety is a young naked mole rat described by her grandmother as “a square peg”.  Sporting thick glasses and orthodontic headgear, she has a passion for collecting and identifying mushrooms and presenting her school reports using interpretive dance.  She can see she doesn’t fit in, but doesn’t know how to change. Fortunately, there’s Aunt Ruth, also a square peg, who assures Sweety that it’s okay to be herself.  They page through some photo albums together, where Sweety sees her mom and aunt as children and as mohawk-sporting teens, giving a few clues as to where Sweety may get her outside-the-box personality.  In the end, she decides to go her own way, and is rewarded by meeting another mole rat who seems to share some of her interests. 32 pages; ages 3-8.

Pros:  The “be yourself” message is delivered in a humorous fashion; all the naked mole rates may look a little unusual to the human readers, pointing out the ridiculousness of what makes one more “popular” than another.  The illustrations provide a light touch that saves the story from getting too bogged down in its message.

Cons:  The expression “square peg” is never explained.

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Published by Peachtree Publishing Company

Summary:  Lil Alan is excited to be leaving before dawn for a family reunion down south.  The whole clan is gathering at his father’s mother’s house. Aunts, uncles, and cousins join in a weekend celebration of their family.  There’s lots of playing with cousins and eating delicious food, but there are also serious talks about their history–how their ancestors came from Africa in chains, but they fought for freedom until “a farmer and a teacher” bought the land where Granny now lives and grows cotton.  Lil Alan worries all weekend about having a contribution to the traditional Sunday evening ceremony, but when the time comes he has thought of something to say that perfectly captures his family’s history. 32 pages: ages 4-8.

Pros:  This would be an excellent mentor text for teaching narrative writing.  The muted watercolor illustrations deserve some Caldecott consideration.

Cons:  I wasn’t quite clear about who bought the land…was it Granny and her husband, or someone in the generation before her?

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Published by Versify

Summary:  Little Lobo and his dog Bernabé have a big day in store as they load up the wagon to make deliveries to various people at the Mercado.  There are all kinds of interesting characters, both human and animal, to be seen as they travel. Finally, they arrive and start delivering their goods.  Little Lobo has many friends at the Mercado, and between their gifts and his own purchases, his wagon is almost as full at the end of his delivery run as it was at the beginning.  His last stop is at the local Lucha Libre place, where he not only meets his favorite wrestler, El Toro, but gets to give him a ride home in his wagon. The day ends with Lobo and Bernabé getting into bed, ready for sleep after a busy day.  Includes a glossary of all the Spanish words used in the text. 48 pages; ages 4-8.

Pros:  Richard Scarry meets Diego Rivera in this dizzying, magnificent tour of Lobo’s Mexican (I think–it’s not specified) town.  There are so many fascinating characters performing all sorts of interesting jobs in illustrations that could keep readers absorbed for hours.  Many Spanish words and phrases woven into the story combined with the glossary at the end makes this a good introduction to the language.

Cons:  The illustrations were almost too busy, and occasionally overwhelmed the more modest text.

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Published by Chronicle Books

Summary:  “Tomorrow most likely/there will be a sky/And chances are it will be blue/Tomorrow most likely/there will be a squirrel/And chances are his name is Stu.” So begins this unique bedtime story that focuses, not on the night and going to sleep, but of all the wonders that are waiting in the day to come.  What will you see, hear, and touch? Some of it is real, like seeing a plane or holding a stone; some is more fanciful like riding a whale. “Tomorrow most likely/will be a great day/because you are in it/And Stu is okay.” 40 pages; ages 3-7.

Pros:  The quirky rhyming text will get kids contemplating the wonders the next day holds; the illustrations are the best part of this book, filled with color and imagination.

Cons:  Some of the characters, like Stu the squirrel and Cousin Todd, seem to be introduced solely to make a rhyme.

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