Elizabeth I. Miller

Throughout the book we follow a young Hispanic girl who has just moved to the United States. She goes through her daily routines describing what does and doesn't feel like home, until the end of the book she where feels finally at home. The entire book is bilingual which is such a great learning tool. Kids who are learning Spanish can compare the phrases to English. This book is fabulous for kids who have just recently moved from a Spanish speaking country. They not only can use they book as a tool to learn English, but they can relate to a lot of the same emotions that the main character is feeling throughout the book.… (mer)

I enjoyed this book for a multitude of reasons. This book emphasizes the idea that even though people come from different places they are really not that different and everyone shares commonalities. For example, “We played many games and laughed a lot. I didn’t want to go inside when the teacher called us. Just like at home.” In this excerpt from the text the main character describes playing with her new friends at recess just like she used to back in her home country. I believe this book would also be a good choice to share with students who are new to their school or community because they can easily identify with the struggles the main character is going through. I also found it interesting that this book is written in English and Spanish. This makes it a great tool for multi language learners in the classroom. It also exposes English only speakers to another language. This book uses repetition to create a pattern throughout the book. The main character will make an observation about her new home in America and then state whether this observation is “just like home” or “not like home.” For example, “On the first day of school, I was really excited. But when I came to class, no one said hello. Not like at home.”… (mer)

In my opinion this is a great book for a student to read who is coming to the United States from Mexico. This story's plot follows a young girl as she and her family move to the U.S.A.. On every page she compares something to her home, whether it is the colors she sees or the way students in her classroom treat her. At first, the classmates are not very friendly to her, but eventually they invite her to play with them at recess! Moving somewhere new, especially a new county, can be hard but I believe this book could help a students who is going through the same situation. Another thing about this book that I liked is the language. This book is bilingual so it includes English and Spanish text on each page. This is another reason why this book would be great for students who are coming to America from a Spanish speaking country. Finally, this book pushes readers to consider tough ideas. Some people may accidentally treat people who are different from them in a negative way. The main character of this book felt sad and alone when she was excluded by her peers. This book pushes readers to think of how they are treating others, such as the students at school who can not yet speak English very well. By excluding these students and not speaking tot hem at all, they are not able to improve their English and they then don't feel welcome in their community. This book makes readers consider going out of their way to treat others with more respect and kindness. The big idea of this book is to treat others with respect and always try your hardest to be kind.… (mer)

This was a cute story about a little girl’s trip to the U.S. I liked how simple this story made it for readers to compare the girl’s life in the U.S to her home country. For example, the little girl would make a statement about her new experience in the U.S and compare whether it was or was not like home. The author connects the reader to the experiences the little girl in the story is experiencing.
The story also contains pictures/illustrations that help the author compare the girl’s experiences in the U.S to her life back in her home country. The illustrations help reader to see that if the girl’s experience in the U.S were not like home then how it would be at home. For example, the girl says at her cousin’s house they played inside all day unlike at home and the picture shows that the girl would be outside with her family at home.
The big idea in this story is that an experience in the U.S may be different for everyone. For this young girl, she had to learn a new language just to play on the playground with the other students. Students who were born in the U.S have the privilege of already knowing the English language to communicate with.… (mer)