Reviews

Carmela Full of Wishes by Matt de la Peña

qgg's review

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5.0

Read with Henry. This is a very sweet book about a little sister who wakes up on her birthday to find out she can finally go out on errands with her big brother. They go through their neighborhood and she finds a dandelion puff ready to wish on. The illustrator, Christian Robinson, is one of my favorites. I do not understand why this book is on the banned or challenged book list.

jenn_geeks_out's review

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2.0

I wanted to like this book more and rate it higher. I chose this book for our Amazon box this month because I think it's important that our daughter see and hear different perspectives. So I wanted to really love this book for its ability to introduce Charlotte to diverse characters. And in that purpose, I guess this book succeeded, but the real reason that I buy books is to read and spend time with Charlotte. She couldn't follow the story because of the rambling narrative structure. She said that Carmela is rude because she's antagonizing (a word she knows and loves to use) her brother by sticking out her tongue. Charlotte didn't understand one iota about the wishes and she's generally pretty quick on the uptake.

I wanted to love this book for showing different perspectives but it's hard to do that when the child can't follow the story and so doesn't like to read it. All in all, I can't really recommend it to those who are reading to young ones, but teachers could use the heck out of this book.

itssimplykayla_'s review

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5.0

This book was a heartwarming story. I loved Carmela and her wide eyed innocence. She just wanted for her family to be happy. Although her brother seemed mean at first; in the end he did care about his little sister. She just got on his nerves as siblings tend to do. The part that really made me sad was when Carmela imagined her father getting his papers fixed so he could come home. It made me think of all of the families being separated every day due to the very strict immigration laws. Overall this was a great story and I loved the illustrations as well. They're so pretty.

the_lobrarian's review

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  • Illustrations are acrylic paint, collage, and a bit of digital manipulation

theybedax's review

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4.0

Beautiful story about a truly special little one living her life to the fullest.

stenaros's review

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3.0

Carmila is old enough to go to the laundromat with her big brother. She also learns about wishes. Good illustrations, sweet book.

krismarley's review

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4.0

While Carmela didn’t dazzle me, I love Matt de la P. so much after hearing him speak in person.

vellanorah's review

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2.0

Eh. I was not pleased with quite a few things about this book.

emeelee's review

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4.0

This deceptively simple picture book is about a day-in-the-life of Carmela. It's Carmela's birthday, and she's finally old enough to accompany her brother to the laundromat in town. Carmela finds a dandelion, but a mishap ruins it before she can make her wish. Luckily, her brother has a solution.

What makes this story special is the particular perspective Carmela has on the world as the daughter of Latin@ immigrants, which is such great representation for young kids with similar identities who can relate to Carmela's experiences and hopes. I loved the inclusion of Mexican paper-cut artwork among the illustrations-- they were such a beautiful touch that provided yet another cultural connection for Mexican readers.

cbs5678's review

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5.0

Beautiful illustrations.