Lupe Ruiz-Flores

Wow. This book is about a real girl who lived with her family through the depression. They lived because the president started the New Deal and made sure that all families were fed. She was grateful for these programs and wanted to show her appreciation but was unsure what one little poor girl could do. But this girl with a carpenter. She worked at the feet of her father, and that, with practice, she could do something great. She built the president a clock. A wooden clock whose time is right only two times a day, but she labored, and she used what others might consider junk, the crates in which their food arrived, to build this clock. All to say thank you. This book was a fantastic look at the history of the US and how small things can last forever. The author does a fantastic job and so does the illustrator. At the very end of the book there are pictures of the real Clock, as well as scans of the real letter that was sent with the clock. This is one of those little, tiny bits of history that one is happier in life, knowing existed and that it happened.… (altro)

Let's Dance is about a spunky, hispanic girl named Estela. One day Estela is walking through the community rec center and looks in on a zumba class. She becomes very intrigued and runs home to her mom, convincing her to join the class so that she can sit in and watch. Estela sits in the class for a few days, but then becomes very upset because the director of the center bans kids from sitting in on the class. Estela becomes inspired by this and uses her confidence and driven attitude to make a petition to get girls her age their own kid friendly zumba class.… (altro)

Overall i liked this book. i found it to be inspiring and relatable. The language in the book was very well said it elaborated on words that might be confusing for a kid, such as salsa. The little girl, Estela, when hearing the word salsa was confused because she thought salsa was something you eat with chips. She did not know that salsa was also a form of dance. This could be a good way to teach children about the culture also. The illustrations in the book were so precise and life like. On one of the pages there was an illustration of Estela and you could see the single hairs in her messy eyebrows and even her teeth and how come of them were crooked and some were not yet fully grown in. I also really likes how the book was in Spanish and english. This would be a great book when teaching a English speaker to speak Spanish, or the opposite way around. I believe the big idea of the book was that sometimes people get discriminated against. It doesn't always have to be cultures or religion, it could be genders or ages also and that if that is the case you have the right to fight for what you believe in.… (altro)