(2) K-3 Illustrated by Paola Escobar. This tribute to The Velveteen Rabbit and the life of its author, Margery Williams (1881–1944), celebrates the benefits of dramatic play while exploring the intriguing connection between reality and imagination. Beginning with Williams's childhood, which was full of art, story, and creativity, the book shows how her imagination provided comfort during times of painful loss and disruptive change, including the premature death of her father and the upheaval of World War I. The soft-hued digital art is full of charming details, with ethereal linework and elements of collage that characterize Williams's playful spirit while showcasing her paper toy creations. Quotes from The Velveteen Rabbit punctuate poignant moments and form connections between Williams's life and her famous story. Emphasizing how she channeled her imagination to bring her work to life, the book posits the central question from The Velveteen Rabbit of what it means to be "real." Back matter includes an author's note with more details about Williams, a bibliography, and a thorough list of "Social Emotional Activities to Share with Your Toy." A warm and gentle look at a creator's life that provides an engaging extension for fans of The Velveteen Rabbit or for those preparing to experience it for the first time.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2025

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Paola Escobar. Lucas is excited to show off his school report, but his dad’s truck breaks down and his mom is rushing to her job at the diner. That night Lucas follows a strange light to “the place where the perfect people lived.” When a boy there is shamed for not being perfect, Lucas realizes that his real life, surrounded by chaos, family, and love is “the right kind of imperfect.” Beautifully detailed digital gouache-style illustrations contrast a moonlit city with the white-bright lights of the perfect place.

Reviewer: Rachel L. Kerns

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Paola Escobar. Baby Beauty's arrival into the world begins in the womb, "First there is one heart, / then two." With a metered, lyrical cadence, Ramos's text centers on the collective, enumerating how the kinship family--from la doctora, to the espiritista, to the community at the Puerto Rican Day Parade--envelops Beauty and her immediate family in love. As she grows up, this kinship family transmits to Beauty an understanding of her Taíno, African, and Boricua ancestral ties, a deep cultural knowledge that ignites "resistance, / imagination, / hope" in Beauty. This knowledge ultimately supports her when she encounters racist language aimed at "people that looked like family." Confused and hurt, Beauty runs through her neighborhood to process the emotions of “her heart brusin' / black and blue." Escobar's digital illustrations include neighborhood murals that incorporate Taíno symbols with faces of children and elders as well as Black and Brown raised fists of resistance. The concluding subsequent spreads in luminous colorful palettes show Beauty's return home, where a healing ceremony empowers her to see the beauty of her heritage.

Reviewer: Lettycia Terrones

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Paola Escobar. Kunkel and Escobar (illustrator of Planting Stories, rev. 1/19) present the lives of "two Josés." One is a child, known as Little José, living in La Nueva Gloria barrio in Colombia; the other is his neighbor, Señor José, the real-life José Alberto Gutiérrez, whose love of literacy inspired him to construct a community library at the turn of the twenty-first century. While the city of Bogotá sleeps, Señor José, a trash collector, uses his route to look for "hidden treasure...books!" Kunkel's implied metaphor--one person's trash is another's treasure--neatly structures this picture-book biography. Señor José rescues discarded books, and Little José can't wait to read them on Saturdays when the doors to "Paradise" (i.e., Gutiérrez's community library) open wide. Escobar's spacious digital illustrations alternate single pages (including characters' side-by-side perspectives), spot images, and double-page spreads, whose muted cool blue tones and predominant vertical lines offer sweeping panoramic scapes of Bogotá's streets and silhouetted mountains. Some of the images reflect readers' imaginary worlds (references to One Hundred Years of Solitude, Anna Karenina, and The Little Prince), capturing the unique experience that literature offers the mind. An author's note, "Featured Books," and websites are appended.

Reviewer: Lettycia Terrones | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Paola Escobar. López follows the singer's short but influential career from childhood to young adulthood, emphasizing her Mexican American family's support and her natural talent. The tone is upbeat and focuses on Selena's devotion to family, her success, and her impact on Tejano and Latino music; events surrounding her murder are mentioned only in the back matter (leaving the main text feeling somewhat unfinished). After an illustrated timeline, López provides "A Little More About..." related topics including some history of Tejano culture, Tejano music, quinceañeras, and the Texas towns where Selena grew up. Escobar's warm, stylish illustrations have a southwestern vibe. Quotations in the text are unsourced.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Paola Escobar. As a bilingual assistant at Nueva York's public library in 1921, Pura Belpré retells the folk stories of her native Puerto Rico at storytimes and eventually writes them down for publication. Descriptive language moves between English and Spanish seamlessly. Both text and expressive, warm illustrations carry the metaphor of planting seeds, so that readers see the seeds of Belpré's stories bloom as the biographical details unfold. Also available in Spanish. Reading list. Bib.

Reviewer: Alicia K. Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019