La Mariachi (Own Voices, Own Stories)

A barrier-breaking mariachi performer inspires her hometown through music in this sensorial picture book. Young Tuchi makes a "songful wish" that she will someday play the "rousing rhythms" and "sweet cinnamon melodies" she dances to in the plaza, but her teacher says that mariachi is solely for boys. Believing "it's time things changed," Tuchi's nana teaches her to play the guitarrón to prove she deserves a spot in the school mariachi ensemble. Estrada imbues the text with sonority through experiential imagery and onomatopoeia. Though the time period remains unspecified throughout, italicized Spanish phrases and interweaved cultural details animate Tuchi's multigenerational Latinx-cued community, and Sonda's sometimes rigid, color-saturated illustrations conjure a celebratory tone. Back matter describes mariachi instruments. Ages 6-7. (July)