Flotando En La Cancion de Mama: Floating on Mama's Song (Bilingual English/Spanish)

Lacámara debuts with a whimsical bilingual tale of a family whose love of music takes a magical turn when the narrator, Anita, turns seven. Anita arrives home to find her mother singing: nothing unusual there, except that she's floating in the air while doing so. Mother and daughter are delighted, but Anita's grandmother is displeased, as are the neighbors. Promising not to sing breaks Anita's mother's spirit, and it's up to Anita to set things right. Morales's luminous paintings are a vision, rife with sly characterizations, warm familial bonds, and the joy that music brings. Ages 47. (Sept.) Copyright 2010 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

K-Gr 3—Anita comes home from school on her seventh birthday to find her mother singing opera and floating in the air. Outside, her dog, Tito, is also floating. "'It's been happening all day, every time I sing!'" says Mama. Then Anita realizes that everyone who hears the music floats, too. But, when some nosy neighbors complain that their pig, goat, and cow are floating, Grandma orders her daughter to stop singing. Mama grows sad, the cow won't give milk, the pig won't eat, and the goat won't sleep. Everyone is miserable. An old picture with a cow stuck in a mango tree helps Anita, Grandma, and Mama discover the special gift that all the women in the family have. Lacamara's debut weaves together a stirring Caribbean tale inspired by her Cuban roots and her mother's opera singing. Both the English and Spanish versions of the story are fun and easy to read, and also well translated. The fusion of Morales's collage illustrations, with bright energetic colors, large warm brown characters, and real photographs interspersed with digitally enhanced foliage, will help children's imaginations take flight. A grand addition to most bilingual collection.—Angelica Sauceda, Anaheim Public Library, Anaheim, CA

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.