Monica Brown, Author, Magaly Morales, Illustrator , illus. by Magaly Morales. Clarion $16 (0p) ISBN 978-0-547-24197-5
Chavela, who loves chewing gum, buys a pack of “Magic Chicle,” and the enormous pink bubble she blows propels her over the jungles of the Yucatán. “Down below, chicleros
were making zigzag cuts in the tree trunks and...
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Monica Brown, illus. by Sara Palacios. Children’s Book Press (PGW, dist.), $17.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-89239-235-3
The vivacious Peruvian-Scottish-American protagonist of this bilingual book has brown skin and hair “the color of fire.” Her friends tell her that she “doesn’t match,” because of her appearance and her wardrobe, but when Marisol tones down her style,
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Monica Brown, illus. by Julie Paschkis, Holt, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-8050-9198-4
This gentle tribute to Chilean poet Neruda explores his formative experiences, from searching for "beetles and birds' eggs" in the forest to discovering his love for books. Paschkis incorporates Spanish and English words into her organic, stylized...
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Monica Brown, trans. into the Spanish by Carolina Valencia, illus. by Joe Cepeda, HarperCollins/Rayo, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-122781-3
This bilingual picture book tells the story of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, who organized migrant workers in the 1960s. Brown begins by sketching their upbringings: Huerta, an activist from the start, "raise[d] money for soldiers fighting in...
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Monica Brown, illus. by John Parra. Random/Tricycle, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-58246-353-7
Brown (Side by Side/Lado a lado) and Parra (Gracias/Thanks) gently portray a lifestyle 180 degrees from modern, technology-centric schooling. In rural Colombia, "Ana bathes her little brother and feeds the goats and collects the eggs to sell at the...
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Monica Brown, illus. by Angela Dominguez. Little, Brown, $15 (96p) ISBN 978-0-316-25836-4
Drawing from her own Peruvian and Jewish backgrounds, Brown kicks off a chapter book series starring second-grader Lola Levine, a highly competitive soccer player who earns a reputation for being “mean” after she accidentally injures another student
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Monica Brown, illus. by Thelma Muraida. Arte Público/Piñata, $16.95 (32p) ISBN 978-1-55885-700-1
In this bilingual story, Clara is grumpy about her schoolwork, chores, and sharing toys with her siblings. Her mother sends her to a “curandera,” who instructs her to take out the neighbor’s trash, read five books for school instead of one, and give
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Monica Brown, trans. into the Spanish by Adriana Domínguez, illus. by David Diaz. Lee & Low/Children’s Book Press, $17.95 (32p) ISBN 978-0-89239-292-6
In a tender bilingual story inspired by a Yiddish folksong, Maya’s beloved butterfly-laden blanket, made by her abuelita, passes through numerous incarnations. When the blanket frays, Maya and her grandmother fashion it into a dress and, later, a...
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pez. HarperCollins/Rayo, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-122783-7
As Brown explains, Tito Puente (1923–2000) made music his entire life, from banging “spoons and forks on pots and pans, windowsills and cans,” to learning the saxophone while serving in the Navy during WWII, studying at Juilliard, and leading the...
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Monica Brown, trans. into the Spanish by Adriana Domínguez, illus. by Sara Palacios. Lee & Low/Children’s Book Press, $18.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-89239-326-8
In her third bilingual picture book, Marisol McDonald, who is of Scottish and Peruvian descent, highlights her love of words that begin with the letter m, except for one: monsters. After a couple nights of less-than-great sleep, Marisol takes...
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Monica Brown, illus. by John Parra. NorthSouth, $17.95 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7358-4269-4
Brown uses the pets and animals in Frida Kahlo’s life—spider monkeys, a parrot, and a fawn, among others—to emphasize aspects of her personality as she developed into an artist: “Frida’s turkeys were intelligent and sensitive, just like her. And,...
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