#ReadYourWorld

Two of my kids are currently in those stages of learning to read/moving into reading short chapter books and we were so excited to read about Camila’s adventures! My kids are Mexican-British-American and we speak three languages at home (although our main constant is English). So they have been brought up with a mix of languages and traditions, and it is really important for us that they are able to find themselves represented in the books they read and the shows they watch. The Camila the Star series by Alicia Salazar basically fits that bill perfectly for us! 

Camila is a Mexican American 7 year old who loves to set challenges for herself, and with the help of family she makes her way to becoming a star in many different ways. We were generously gifted Camila the Baking Star and Camila the Record-Breaking Star by Capstone Books in exchange for an honest review for Multicultural Children’s Book Day and these books are now on regular rotation during storytime (and I keep finding them under one of my daughter’s pillows, which means she has been reading them after lights out!)

There are many things that I really, really loved in this series! Camila is a feisty, funny, smart, and headstrong little girl who doesn’t give up. She has great ideas, and doesn’t hesitate to enlist family members for help and advice. And while the books are written in English, Spanish words are peppered through-out the narrative, and I honestly felt like the author lived with us and heard how we all talk. I think this is something that multilingual families all do, and it was so natural for us all to read the books. (There is a little dictionary at the beginning of each book with the English translation for each Spanish word). There is also this one moment in one of the books that you find out that Camila’s dad is actually her stepfather, and this struck a (happy) chord with me for personal reasons - all families are different and all families should feel represented. All of these reasons are why it’s so important to publish and read #OwnVoices authors: kids will see themselves, and kids will learn about other families, it’s a complete win for everyone.

The illustrations by Thais Damaião fit the stories perfectly: Camila has these awesome facial expressions that really convey her personality AND the images are super representative of a Mexican American family. (And Camila looks like one of my daughters so that is also an added plus). 

I would recommend this series for kids in K to Grade 2, maybe even earlier than K if they enjoy story time as there are enough images to keep their attention, and the stories aren’t too long.