Juana & Lucas
written and illustrated by Juana Medina
Candlewick Press, 2016, 96 pages
Young readers will love getting to know Juana in this delightful semi-autobiographical chapter book. She's a young girl living in Bogotá, Columbia with her two favorite people: her Mami and her dog Lucas. Juana also likes lots of things: drawing, superhero Astroman, brussels sprouts,and reading books (sometimes under the covers with a flashlight). She also like living near her abuelos and playing her friends, especially Juli. Juana isn't crazy about math, dance class, or her school uniform, but she does like lunch when she can play fútbol with her friends. Juana thinks her life is just about perfect, that is until English comes along - on the first already-not-going-well day of school. Thank goodness, there's Lucas to come home to after such a horrible day.I thought the kids in my reading group were a little too young for this book, but I read it to them anyway. I thought it was just such a great kid-friendly book, that I couldn't resist. And my kids loved it! One could relate to Juana's struggle to learn English, and Juana reminded a few of them of their older sisters, but all agreed it was a great story. I thought it was also an ideal read aloud.
Told in first person narration by Juana, you can feel the energy behind her words, and she gives a very easy to follow vision of her life, that includes detailed asides that draw the readers into her world along with the main story. These are all accompanied by lively cartoon-like ink and watercolor illustrations and sprinkled with Spanish words throughout. Each time we came to a Spanish word, we practiced it until it was memorized, which proved to be a lot of fun. We also talked about how Juana's is similar to their lives and how it is different, which was also an interesting conversation. And though we learned that her father had passed away, we also saw that Juana has a loving, supportive family and lots of friends.
With her pigtails, her dislike of her uniform, her friendliness, and her abundant enthusiasm, Juana is a wonderfully appealing character, and we were pretty excited to continue her adventures with a second Juana & Lucas story.
Juana & Lucas: Big Problemas
written and illustrated by Juana Medina
Candlewick Press, 2019, 96 pages
This sequel to Juana & Lucas, begins just as Juana is realizing that her just about perfect life has become a little less perfect lately. It starts when she notices that her mother is wearing her hair differently, using more perfume, more lipstick and even singing. And lately Juana has also been spending more time with her abuelos, or with her abuelo's sister Cecilia, nicknamed Piti, or she has been staying with her cousins Cami Pipe, which is nice since Lucas can come, too. But Juana misses spending time with her Mami, whose spending times elsewhere without her.
Change is in the air and it turns out that Mami has been dating a man named Luis. Luis asks Juana lots of questions about herself when they first meet, and she learns that he loves to take pictures (so does she), he has a house in the country, called La Finca, and Luis likes to listen to jazz (so does she). And she really likes visiting La Finca. But when Mami and Luis announce they are getting married, Juana is less than happy.
And now, Juana needs to pack all her things because she, Mami, and Luis will be moving to a new house. Not only that, but her abuelita's seamstress is called in to take measurements for wedding dresses, including one for Juana and a special bow tie for Lucas. Piti is making the wedding cake, and Juana is her official taster. And she is excited about the new house, too. Pretty soon, Juana's dress is ready, the cake is made, and the wedding day has arrived. By now, Juana has accepted that her life has changed in a big way, and she starting to enjoy it, especially the idea of more cousins, uncles and aunts. After all, "it might guarantee an adventure or two."
Once again, Juana's first person narration draws readers into her life as she deals with the trauma of change and a new stepfather. I liked that Medina included an aside that is very touching as Juana thinks about the father she doesn't really remember and wonders what life would have been life with him. And Mami's reassurances that not everything will change, that she will always be her Mami who loves Juana, not matter what, and who will take care of her, laugh with her, cook her favorite foods, was also a nice touch.
The ink and watercolor illustrations are every bit as playful and energetic as in the first book, capturing all of Juana's emotions that run from very happy to very sad. And once again, there are Spanish words sprinkled throughout Juana's story. Juana's asides might inspire young readers to think about what is good in their own lives.
Both Juana & Lucas books deal with the kind of ups and downs that kids anywhere might face, but I really thought this story might be way, way over the heads of my young readers. Happily, most of them really got into it, and we again had lots of discussions, especially regarding the topics in the asides that Juana includes. I really hope they revisit both of these books when they begin reading on their own.
As a sequel, Juana & Lucas: Big Problemas stands up very nicely in terms of execution and strong storyline, and with the short introduction to Juana's near perfect life in Bogotá, it can be read as a stand alone story.
And it is the humble opinion of my kids that Juana & Lucas and Juana & Lucas: Big Problemas are just about perfect. And we are hoping for more stories about Juana's life in Bogotá, Columbia with her best furry friend Lucas in the future.
You can download some handy Spanish/English flash cards to use along with Juana & Lucas. There is also a short Juana & Lucas: Big Problemas Activity Kit that can also be downloaded. Thanks to Candlewick Press for these.
These books are recommended for readers age 5+
These books were provided to me for review by Candlewick Press
This is the map I used:
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| Source: http://lanic.utexas.edu/la/region/map/ |
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