Book Review

Book Review: My Vida Loca by Jacqueline Jules

My Vida Loca by Jacqueline Jules

Description: “My Vida Loca” by Jacqueline Jules has 3 stories in it:

  • Singing Superstar
  • The Secret Recipe
  • The Marigold Mess

Review: The stories are about Sofia, a 7 year old with a big personality, and her close knit family. Sofia wants to sing for her relatives, help her abuela cook and help her father wash the car. While Sofia’s intentions are good things tend to go awry for her and she has to figure out (with the help of her family) how to set things right. The stories all have good ideas on how to deal with or fix a situation or mistake. I would define the Sofia Maritnez beginning reader/early chapter book series as “cute.”  Parents will find humor in these stories (who hasn’t told a singing child to go bug someone else) and children will find a relatable character. Sofia is very likeable and her antics are sweet and humorous. The illustrations are bright, fun and very expressive. While there is nothing extraordinary about the stories, the intermittent use of Spanish words sets this series apart. The Spanish words are typed in pink to distinguish them and at the end of the book there is a glossary of the Spanish words. Even if the child is unfamiliar with the meaning of the word they are generally able to figure it out by the context of the book. There are a lot of Hispanic families in my community who speak Spanish, they often ask for bilingual books that their child can relate to. Sofia Martinez is a great series that I’m sure will gain a lot of popularity in urban libraries or libraries with Spanish speaking communities. I can’t wait to recommend this series to my little patrons!

*please note that I received an advanced copy of the book from NetGalley

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