How Tía Lola Saved the Summer

April 15, 2011

Alvarez returns with another Tia Lola story, replete with adventure and humor.

Revisiting this charming Latino family a couple of months after How Tia Lola Learned to Teach (2010), readers find 11-year-old Miguel Guzman's aunt creating a magical summer camp for the Fourth of July week, complete with campfires and a nighttime treasure hunt. Victor Espada is back in Vermont to visit, bringing his three daughters and his dog to stay at the farm. With romance blooming between Víctor and Miguel's divorced mom, Tia Lola tries to keep the peace between the five children. Meanwhile, outnumbered by the four girls and sidelined from playing baseball by an ankle injury, Miguel is beset by a plethora of worries, while his 9-year-old sister Juanita struggles to feel special among the Espada girls. Each of the children (and a couple of the adults) overcomes a challenge, thanks to Tia Lola's empathy and wisdom. The author subtly continues thematic elements of acceptance and community from the previous novels and blends Spanish words and phrases into the story, which will appeal to Latino and non-Latino readers alike.

Returning readers will rejoice in reconnecting with the effervescent Tia Lola and the rest of the gang, while even readers new to the tales will want to read more about Vermont's favorite Dominican aunt. (Fiction. 8-12)

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

July 1, 2011

Gr 3-6-Fifth grade was a trial for Miguel, but summer holds the promise of carefree days and baseball. However, when he learns that his mother's friend, Victor, and his three children-all girls-are coming to stay for a week, he is sure that his entire vacation will be ruined. And to top it all off, he sustains an injury that threatens to bench him during the big game. But Tia Lola comes to the rescue, employing her wisdom, charm, and creativity to ensure a fun and memorable summer for everyone. With a playful sprinkling of Spanish phrases, this third installment takes readers on another delightful adventure with this alluring character. The third-person narrative is brimming with heartwarming fun and includes captivating splashes of magical realism. Within the subplots, Alvarez deftly touches on the feelings of children affected by divorce and the intricacies of blended families. Fans of the earlier "Tia Lola" books will not want to miss this one, but it can certainly stand on its own.-Debbie Lewis, Alachua County Library District, FL

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2011
Grades 4-7 In this third T-a Lola series title, Miguel, 11, is unhappy when his mother invites a New York City familythree girls, their lawyer father, and their slobbery dogto spend a summer week in his Vermont farmhouse. The girls are just as unhappy to be there; theyd rather be at Disney World. But when T-a Lola, Miguels aunt from the Dominican Republic, creates a fun summer camp, the kids discover that the Vermont countryside has its very own magic. Never solemn, T-a Lolas messages, in Spanish and English, are as much fun as the spats and reconciliations between family and friends.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)