Maya Papaya and Her Amigos Play Dress-up by Susan Middleton Elya. Illustrated by Maria Mola. unpgd. Charlesbridge, October, 2018. 9781580898034. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)
Maya Papaya is not only adorable, she possesses a great sense of fashion and a vivid imagination. She also owns an awful lot of "stufties" and loves to dress them as well as her dog and cat up in a variety of outfits.
Stories in rhyme can be hit or miss. This one hits it out of the park seamlessly weaving Spanish words into jaunty rhymes that read aloud easily. Digitally created pastel illustrations depict Maya and her amigos in a variety of activities through the four seasons.
The Spanish words are italicized and can be easily decoded from text and illustrations. A glossary at the back provides a pronunciation guide as well as the proper use of "the," el, la, los and las.
Maya Papaya and Amigos Play Dress-up belongs in any pre-school to lower elementary classroom or library. Besides its obvious value in helping young students acquire Spanish, it celebrates imaginary play, getting out in nature, weather and the seasons. Such a sweet, versatile book!
Bucky and Stu vs. the Mikanikal Man by Cornelius Van Wright. unpgd. Nancy Paulsen Books/ Penguin Young Readers Group, July, 2015. 9780399164279. (Review from finished copy courtesy of Blue Slip Media)
My, my. How did I miss adorable homage to imaginative play? Many thanks to Blue Slip Media for remedying this.
Bucky and Stu, two adorable bffs clad in homemade superhero outfits (the yellow rubber gloves are a hilarious touch) do battle against a variety of homegrown baddies delightfully constructed of various and sundry household items, such as boxes, vacuums and mops. I actually had this flashback to the clubhouse my brother made way back in the time of dinosaurs when I was young. That rickety contraption was a fort, a war bunker, a ship, and even a space ship and provided hours of play when our mother kicked the six of us out of the house for the day to find our own entertainment.
Bucky and Stu are totally in sync, totally engaged in their story, which is collaborative and a perfect outlet for their seemingly boundless energy, until it's time for lunch. Then food is the only thing on their minds. Once recharged, Bucky shows Stu, Mikanikal Man, a super-duper robot villain that only needs a power source for them to do battle with. A rain storm drives the boys indoors and a lightning strike powers Mikanikal Man.
The next day, the boys are puzzled when they find that Mikanikal Man is missing, then terrified when he looms over them. Have the superheroes met their match?
The water color and pencil illustrations perfectly capture the boys' frenetic energy as does the ever-changing type-face. The illustrations have a graphic novel feel and contain lots of fun little details. This is definitely one to ham up during read aloud. The group I read the book to loved it and they all wanted to look at the book again to chuckle over the pictures.
Bucky and Stu vs. the Mikanikal Man might just inspire some free play in the library and, hopefully out of doors instead of in the basement on electronic devices.
Don't miss this gem. Here's hoping to seeing some more of this dynamic duo in action.
ETA 6/29: Thanks to Mr. Van Wright for commenting! Please visit Bucky and Stu's website for cool animations, a curriculum guide and more!
