Becoming Maria

Sonia Manzano was known to millions of people as Maria on "Sesame Street" for more than 40 years. So hearing her narrate this powerful memoir of her turbulent young life can give listeners cognitive dissonance: Why is Maria's familiar, comforting voice talking about sex and violence? Her tumultuous childhood informed how she portrayed Maria; she made her real so other Puerto Rican little girls could see someone who looked like them on television. Manzano narrates her book with unflinching honesty. She sputters when recalling anger and lightens her tone and laughs aloud when reading about happy times. There's honesty in her voice as well as her words as she forthrightly recounts her life, rough spots and all. G.D. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

February 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-Although Manzano is the author of such notable titles as The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano (Scholastic, 2012) and Miracle on 133rd Street (S. & S., 2015), she may be best known for her 44 years as Maria on Sesame Street. This latest work recounts her chaotic family life in the 1950s and 1960s South Bronx, before she joined the fledgling television show in 1971. The author herself narrates, and listeners will be delighted to hear her familiar voice but sobered to learn the details of a childhood ruled by an alcoholic, abusive father and loving, though codependent, mother. Manzano expresses perfectly the confusion of a young child viewing violence she can't understand and the real fear of a girl watching her mother secreting away kitchen knives before her husband explodes in a drunken fury. However, she also conveys the wonder and awakening occasioned by experiencing performances as diverse as the romantic musical drama West Side Story and the acts of Charlie Chaplin, as well as unaffected surprise when describing the events that led to her early life-changing successes, including admittance to the High School of the Performing Arts. VERDICT Teens may have trouble following the story, which unfolds in episodic memories that sometimes lack clear transitions. However, many will be moved and even inspired by the account of Manzano rising above her challenging childhood. ["This memoir will strike a chord with teens and adults alike": SLJ 9/15 starred review of the Scholastic book.]-Rebecca James, Hathaway Brown School, Shaker Heights, OH

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.