Horn Book Review
A young girl describes how she adjusts to life in the United States as she evaluates the similarities and differences between her new home and her former home. Some things are the same, while others are vastly different. The child's viewpoint is conveyed through folkloric-style illustrations accompanied by a succinct, lively text in both Spanish and English. From HORN BOOK Spring 2000, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Ages 4^-8. After her family comes to the U.S., a school-age girl describes all of her experiences as "Not like home" or "Just like home," until she feels "at home." The family is Latino, but their country of origin is never named, resulting in a bland generic portrayal. The text is given in English and Spanish and includes a bilingual word search picture index on the final page. Though colorful, the illustrations are static and somewhat stiff. Useful for libraries serving Latino communities with a need for bilingual bibliotherapy on the subject of immigration. --Annie Ayres
Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-When a young girl's family moves to the United States, she begins the process of growing accustomed to a new environment. In simple, declarative sentences rendered in both clear Spanish and English, the child compares those things that are like and not like her home. "Look! Out the window! Snow! Not like home." Finally, as the book closes, she has made a thorough enough adjustment to fall asleep "at home" in her new country. Reisberg's gouache, acrylic, and pencil illustrations show both the protagonist's distress at being left out and her joy at finally being included in playground games, her mother's confusion at being unable to find chorizo in the store, and the delight in large family dinners. A "Can you find...?" page lists words in English and Spanish according to the page on which they appear. Not as verbally complex or as artistically done as Luis Garay's The Long Road (Tundra, 1997), this story nonetheless has a place in ESL and bilingual programs as well as in storyhours aimed at helping children understand both the difficulties of adjustment and the links that bind us all.-Ann Welton, Terminal Park Elementary School, Auburn, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.