Lola

Written by Karla Arenas Valenti 

 

Publisher: ‎Knopf Books for Young Readers

Language: ‎English

Hardcover: ‎256 pages

ISBN-10: ‎0593177002

ISBN-13: ‎978-0593177006

Reading age: ‎8 - 12 years

 

A simmering tale of magic, adventure, and the extraordinary bond between a brother and sister who'd journey to the ends of the Earth to save each other. From the acclaimed author of Lotería comes a heartfelt story rooted in Mexican magical realism.

 

Ten-year-old Lola has always been touched by magic. In her Mexico City home, built around a towering tree, she is accustomed to enchanted blooms that change with the seasons, a sandbox that spits out mysterious treasures, and mischievous chaneques that scuttle about unseen by all but her. Magic has always been a part of her life, but now she must embrace the extraordinary as never before.

 

Ever since The Thing That Happened, Lola's brother Alex has been sick. As his condition worsens, something begins eating away at the tree, causing its leaves and blossoms to crumble like ash. The two are related, Lola is sure of it, but how? Seeking a cure, she visits a grocery store oracle who bids her to follow the chaneques down one of their secret passages... into a hidden world.

 

Here in Floresta, a land of myths and monsters and marvels untold, lies the key to healing her brother. But the kingdom's young queen stands in the way. Lola must use her wits and face her deepest fears if there's any hope of saving Alex in time.

 

Review

  

"A quest undertaken for love and healing, replete alike with astonishing marvels and provocative themes." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

 

"The fantasy here is vividly imagined, but the story itself is ultimately real, painful, and achingly beautiful." —The Bulletin, starred review

 

“Readers will be lining up to get this book. A must-read for all upper elementary and middle school fantasy fans.” —School Library Journal, starred review

 

 "A truly enchanting adventure that both enthralls and entertains.” —Booklist, starred review

 

"Valenti skillfully incorporates magical realism into this captivating tale, taking the reader on a memorable journey through a different world." —The Horn Book

 

 

Karla Arenas Valenti is an award-winning author who writes stories for and about kids, taking readers on journeys steeped in magical realism and philosophical questions. Her storytelling is heavily influenced by her Mexican heritage and layered with ideas and concepts she's picked up in her many travels around the world. She currently resides in the Chicagoland area with her husband and three kids, two cats, and hundreds of books. Karla received the Pura Belpré author award for her middle grade novel, Lola, and three starred reviews for her debut, Loteria. She has also written several picture books including Esperanza Caramelo: The Star of Nochebuena.

 

Islandborn

Written by Junot Díaz

Illustrated by Leo Espinosa

Age Range: 5 - 8 years

Grade Level: Kindergarten - 3

Hardcover: 48 pages

Publisher: Dial Books 

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0735229864

ISBN-13: 978-0735229860

From New York Times bestseller and Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Díaz comes a debut picture book about the magic of memory and the infinite power of the imagination.

Every kid in Lola's school was from somewhere else.

Hers was a school of faraway places.

So when Lola's teacher asks the students to draw a picture of where their families immigrated from, all the kids are excited. Except Lola. She can't remember The Island—she left when she was just a baby. But with the help of her family and friends, and their memories—joyous, fantastical, heartbreaking, and frightening—Lola's imagination takes her on an extraordinary journey back to The Island.  As she draws closer to the heart of her family's story, Lola comes to understand the truth of her abuela's words: “Just because you don't remember a place doesn't mean it's not in you.”

Gloriously illustrated and lyrically written, Islandborn is a celebration of creativity, diversity, and our imagination's boundless ability to connect us—to our families, to our past and to ourselves.

Review

* "With his tenacious, curious heroine and a voice that’s chatty, passionate, wise, and loving, Díaz entices readers to think about a fundamental human question: what does it mean to belong?"–Publishers Weekly, starred review

Junot Díaz was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in New Jersey. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Drown; The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, which won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award; and This Is How You Lose Her, a New York Times bestseller and National Book Award finalist. A graduate of Rutgers University, Díaz is currently the fiction editor at Boston Review and the Rudge and Nancy Allen Professor of Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Leo Espinosa is an award-winning illustrator and designer from Bogotá, Colombia, whose work has been featured in The New Yorker, Wired, Esquire, The New York Times, The Atlantic, and more. Leo's illustrations have been recognized by American Illustration, Communication Arts, Pictoplasma, 3x3, and the Society of Illustrators. Leo lives with his family in Salt Lake City, Utah.