Soledad suspiros - Soledad Sigh-Sighs, Del Sol Books

Soledad suspiros - Soledad Sigh-Sighs, Hardcover, Bilingual, Book, Rigoberto Gonzalez, Rosa Ibarra, Preschool - 2nd Grade, 9780892391806, $16.95 Out of Print :(

"Every day when Soledad gets home from school, the windows are as dark as cooked gandules. No one to talk to. Nothing fun to do. Everyone in Soledad's apartment works. Papi at the grade school in the mornings and at the high school in the afternoons. Sweep-sweep. Mami at the laundry. Wash-dry-fold."

Eight-year-old Soledad dreads coming home to her lonely house. One solution might be to invent an imaginary sister to keep her company. But a much better answer emerges from the imagination and curiosity of two good friends from the neighborhood.

Prize-winning poet and writer Rigoberto González has crafted a delicate and touching tale about Puerto Rican children in New York, one that captures a latchkey child's loneliness and her friends' lively ingenuity in dealing with this all too common concern. Artist Rosa Ibarra's lovely, thoughtful illustrations explore the outside and inside realities of these characters . . . she depicts three little girls you surely already know and will never forget.

"The rhythmic prose reads well in both English and Spanish, with the dreamy detached tone of the opening giving way to a brighter, more realistic voice as the child's life opens out. Ibarra's acrylic illustrations, painted in warm hues, are reminiscent in style of Paul Gaugin's very much what he might have painted had he washed up in the inner city rather than Tahiti. Round, solid forms and dramatic composition give the pictures life and verve. Books addressing the latchkey issue for the younger grades are rare. . . Soledad Sigh-Sighs, whether read in English, in Spanish, or both, fills a gap in bibliotherapeutic literature while providing a sound story of friendship." —School Library Journal

"González creates a comforting and familiar ambience even as he deals with an uncomfortable reality . . . Ibarra depicts Soledad's urban environment in warm earth tones and blues . . . and the round faces of Soledad and her friends and neighbors are stylized and child-like without being cartoonish. These strengths, combined with González's insights into the child's mind, create a visually inviting and emotionally encouraging experience." —Kirkus Reviews

Booklist : Gr. 1-3. Soledad's parents and aunt are working, so she comes home to an empty apartment every day. One day, as Soledad plays with an imaginary sister, neighboring sisters Nedelsy and Jahniza interrupt her and suggest that they accompany her home. As the three read, listen to music, dance, and draw, Soledad discovers the pleasures of friendship. Nedelsy also points out the positive side of solitude and asks if she can escape to Soledad's "when it's too crazy at my house." The story is told in English and Spanish with occasional Spanish terms inserted into the English telling. Although these words can be understood in context, there is no glossary. Set in Brooklyn's Puerto Rican-American community, the narrative has sparks of fine urban imagery, but the story itself is rather bland. The illustrations follow the text closely and work unobtrusively with the bilingual format. Libraries have livelier, more convincing friendship stories on their shelves, but this may provide bibliotherapy for Latino kids in similar latchkey situations.