Bravo, Chico Canta! Bravo!

K-Gr 2—The Cantas, who live in an old theater, love the performing arts and are proud of being bilingual. In fact, Mrs. Canta speaks Spanish, English, Italian, Cricket, Spider, and Moth. After taking her dozen little mice ((niños)) to see The Three Little Pigs, they prepare to put on their own play. However, her littlest mouse, Chico Canta, is not always where he is supposed to be, and he has an important role in the performance. In the end, he cleverly saves them from Little Gato-Gato. The illustrations, done in watercolor and mixed media, are colorful and fun to look at against the crisp white backgrounds. The animals' expressions make them endearing to readers. The text is fairly lengthy, making it more suitable for one-on-one reading rather than group sharing. The story celebrates bilingualism and shows how having dual (or multilingual) language skills might just save the day. A good supplemental purchase, especially for libraries providing service to children in bilingual or immersion programs.—Maricela Leon-Barrera, San Francisco Public Library