Reviews
Kirkus Reviews 3/15/03 A third-grader of Puerto Rican descent, Gabi (the accent comes later) speaks Spanish at home and English at school. Her mother hates even the slightest hint of Spanglish--the mixing of Spanish and English--but as pressures mount at school and Gabi find it difficult not to lose her temper at Johnny, her classmate and nemesis, it seems she can do nothing but speak Spanglish. Lightweight, but firmly focused on the everyday trials and tribulations of the spunky Gabi--and told through her voice--this will appeal to lots of girls, especially Latinas, who are ready to move out of beginning reader and into their own chapter books. Both sentences and paragraphs are short and direct, and Gabi's narration includes plenty of kid-friendly dialogue, sometimes in Spanish or Spanglish, all of which is explained within the tale. Coupled with the sheer exuberance of Gabi's family, the narrative voice may have some crying stereotype," but a truer comparison would be with sitcoms such as George López and The Brothers Garcia. Cepeda, who also teamed with Montes on the picture-book folktale Juan Bobo Goes to Work (2002), here provides numerous black-and-white line illustrations, scattered throughout and often worked into the text block. Gabi's almost triangular haircut--reminiscent of an Egyptian sphinx's headdress--and the gleeful facial expressions of Johnny and Gabi's little brother Miguelito add to the generally hyper" felling of the story itself. A glossary of Spanish terms is included. (fiction, 6-9) Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books June 2003 Recommended Reading Gr. 2-4 Third-grader Maritza Gabriela Morales Mercado (Gabí at home) has a problem--Johnny and Sissy, two of her least favorite people in her class, are her partners for a science report about strange and unusual animals. Johnny is a bully who teasers Gabí about her name, Sissy is a snob, and they can't agree on what animal to study. A surprise visit from her grandmother helps Gabí solve the problem: Her grandmother gives her a tape of the sounds of coquí, tiny Puerto Rican tree frogs. When Gabí plays it in class, even Johnny and Sissy agree they want to learn more about the strange and beautiful frogs. Since part of the resolution involves the importance of the accent over the I in Gabí," it's confusing that her name initially appears without it even in Gabí's own first-person narration, and some of the secondary characters are a bit flatly drawn. Gabí and her family are sketches with affectionate detail that makes them particularly attractive, however, and the text is energetic and bouncy, just like the amiable main character; the dialogue is an easy mix of English, Spanish, and Spanglish (a Spanish/English glossary is appended). The cast of characters is decidedly multicultural and the classroom dynamics are, while neat, believable. Short chapters, large typeface, and angular yet jolly line drawings by Cepeda add to the book's accessibility. This is a solid early chapter book (the first in a new series) that knows the audience it wants and reaches it with humor and flair. --JMD, Kirkus Reviews 3/15/03 A third-grader of Puerto Rican descent, Gabi (the accent comes later) speaks Spanish at home and English at school. Her mother hates even the slightest hint of Spanglish-the mixing of Spanish and English-but as pressures mount at school and Gabi find it difficult not to lose her temper at Johnny, her classmate and nemesis, it seems she can do nothing but speak Spanglish. Lightweight, but firmly focused on the everyday trials and tribulations of the spunky Gabi-and told through her voice-this will appeal to lots of girls, especially Latinas, who are ready to move out of beginning reader and into their own chapter books. Both sentences and paragraphs are short and direct, and Gabi's narration includes plenty of kid-friendly dialogue, sometimes in Spanish or Spanglish, all of which is explained within the tale. Coupled with the sheer exuberance of Gabi's family, the narrative voice may have some crying "stereotype," but a truer comparison would be with sitcoms such as George Lpez and The Brothers Garcia. Cepeda, who also teamed with Montes on the picture-book folktale Juan Bobo Goes to Work (2002), here provides numerous black-and-white line illustrations, scattered throughout and often worked into the text block. Gabi's almost triangular haircut-reminiscent of an Egyptian sphinx's headdress-and the gleeful facial expressions of Johnny and Gabi's little brother Miguelito add to the generally "hyper" felling of the story itself. A glossary of Spanish terms is included. (fiction, 6-9) Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books June 2003 Recommended Reading Gr. 2-4 Third-grader Maritza Gabriela Morales Mercado (Gab at home) has a problem-Johnny and Sissy, two of her least favorite people in her class, are her partners for a science report about strange and unusual animals. Johnny is a bully who teasers Gab about her name, Sissy is a snob, and they can't agree on what animal to study. A surprise visit from her grandmother helps Gab solve the problem: Her grandmother gives her a tape of the sounds of coqu, tiny Puerto Rican tree frogs. When Gab plays it in class, even Johnny and Sissy agree they want to learn more about the strange and beautiful frogs. Since part of the resolution involves the importance of the accent over the I in "Gab," it's confusing that her name initially appears without it even in Gab's own first-person narration, and some of the secondary characters are a bit flatly drawn. Gab and her family are sketches with affectionate detail that makes them particularly attractive, however, and the text is energetic and bouncy, just like the amiable main character; the dialogue is an easy mix of English, Spanish, and Spanglish (a Spanish/English glossary is appended). The cast of characters is decidedly multicultural and the classroom dynamics are, while neat, believable. Short chapters, large typeface, and angular yet jolly line drawings by Cepeda add to the book's accessibility. This is a solid early chapter book (the first in a new series) that knows the audience it wants and reaches it with humor and flair. --JMD, Kirkus Reviews 3/15/03 A third-grader of Puerto Rican descent, Gabi (the accent comes later) speaks Spanish at home and English at school. Her mother hates even the slightest hint of Spanglish-the mixing of Spanish and English-but as pressures mount at school and Gabi find it difficult not to lose her temper at Johnny, her classmate and nemesis, it seems she can do nothing but speak Spanglish. Lightweight, but firmly focused on the everyday trials and tribulations of the spunky Gabi-and told through her voice-this will appeal to lots of girls, especially Latinas, who are ready to move out of beginning reader and into their own chapter books. Both sentences and paragraphs are short and direct, and Gabi's narration includes plenty of kid-friendly dialogue, sometimes in Spanish or Spanglish, all of which is explained within the tale. Coupled with the sheer exuberance of Gabi's family, the narrative voice may have some crying "stereotype," but a truer comparison would be with sitcoms such as George López and The Brothers Garcia. Cepeda, who also teamed with Montes on the picture-book folktale Juan Bobo Goes to Work (2002), here provides numerous black-and-white line illustrations, scattered throughout and often worked into the text block. Gabi's almost triangular haircut-reminiscent of an Egyptian sphinx's headdress-and the gleeful facial expressions of Johnny and Gabi's little brother Miguelito add to the generally "hyper" felling of the story itself. A glossary of Spanish terms is included. (fiction, 6-9) Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books June 2003 Recommended Reading Gr. 2-4 Third-grader Maritza Gabriela Morales Mercado (Gabí at home) has a problem-Johnny and Sissy, two of her least favorite people in her class, are her partners for a science report about strange and unusual animals. Johnny is a bully who teasers Gabí about her name, Sissy is a snob, and they can't agree on what animal to study. A surprise visit from her grandmother helps Gabí solve the problem: Her grandmother gives her a tape of the sounds of coquí, tiny Puerto Rican tree frogs. When Gabí plays it in class, even Johnny and Sissy agree they want to learn more about the strange and beautiful frogs. Since part of the resolution involves the importance of the accent over the I in "Gabí," it's confusing that her name initially appears without it even in Gabí's own first-person narration, and some of the secondary characters are a bit flatly drawn. Gabí and her family are sketches with affectionate detail that makes them particularly attractive, however, and the text is energetic and bouncy, just like the amiable main character; the dialogue is an easy mix of English, Spanish, and Spanglish (a Spanish/English glossary is appended). The cast of characters is decidedly multicultural and the classroom dynamics are, while neat, believable. Short chapters, large typeface, and angular yet jolly line drawings by Cepeda add to the book's accessibility. This is a solid early chapter book (the first in a new series) that knows the audience it wants and reaches it with humor and flair. --JMD
