Arto's Big Move

September 1, 2014
When you love the cold, can you also find happiness where it's hot? Arto has lived in the north for all seven years of his life. Because he's careful to wear lots of layers, he can play outside in the snow with his friends for hours. One day, Arto's mother tells him the family will soon be moving south for a year. Arto adopts a comically permanent frown all the way through packing and driving to the family's new home in the desert. For weeks, he pretends that he still lives in the north, bundling up in all his layers and woolen cap. Then one day, a little girl named Ana approaches him as he sits scrunched up against a cactus (at least it has needles, just like a pine tree). She compliments his hat (she wears a cute, broad-brimmed hat herself) and invites him to play. Over the next few months, Arto spends more time playing and less time brooding. He trades his woolen cap for a cowboy hat from Ana. The year flies by, and soon it's time to move back north. Arto returns with a smile on his face, all bundled up, his gift from Ana held gently in his hands. Arnaldo's tale of unwelcome feelings and the importance of friendship is nicely paced and gracefully written, and her expressive, mixed-media paintings neatly evoke Arto's journey.Quietly effective. (Picture book. 5-8)

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October 1, 2014

Gr 1-3-When Arto's family moves from the cold North to the South for a year, the seven year old is very resistant to the idea. In fact, despite being surrounded by cacti, adobe houses, and sand, he refuses to give up his former garb-wool hat, winter coat, boots, and wooly socks. He spends his days sweating and brooding until a classmate approaches him. Ana's family has moved often, and her knowledge of living in the North connects her to Arto immediately. As the friendship blooms, Arto begins to shed his layers, a great metaphor for opening up to change and new friendship. As the year comes to a close, Arto has mixed feelings about leaving his new home. In the end, he learns that he can take a bit of his Southern life with him. This story will resonate with many children, especially those who have experienced a move. The boldly colored, expressive illustrations adequately reflect the cold Northern climate, with its snow and bulky clothing, and the heat and desert landscape of the South.-Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh, PA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2014
Grades K-3 Change is a constant in children's lives, but here is a book about a boy who resists it big-time. Seven-year-old Arto lives somewhere up North, and every day he arms himself against the cold by dressing in wool socks, boots, mittens, a coat, and a knit cap. When his mother tells him that they are moving to the South, Arto insists on wearing his outdoor gear on the trip. He continues to wear it, in fact, even when he becomes surrounded by adobe houses and cacti. Eventually, though, Arto meets a girl at school who tells him that her family has moved many times. They become friends and, sure enough, Arto trades in his snow cap for a cowboy hat. The fairly lengthy text gives the serious topic its due, while the pencil, watercolor, acrylic, and graphite illustrations convey the beauty of both North and South locales. The emphasis on Arto's clothing is a wonderfully subtle and clever way of depicting his emotional defenses and, as he loses his layers, how he is coming to adjust.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)