Marisol McDonald and the Monster: Marisol McDonald y el monstruo by Monica Brown, Ph.D., Sara Palacios (Illustrated by)

Marisol loves every word that begins with an M, like her name.  Every one except Monster.  She's afraid of monsters...

Children's Book Press and Edelweiss allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published so you can find a copy now.  It's bilingual which is a nice touch.

When Marisol hears a bump in the night, she's sure there's a monster under her bed.  Her dad checks for her.  No monster.  She still can't sleep and joins her parents for a few nights.  When she thinks it will be better, she tries her bed again.

The noise persists but now her whole family can hear it.  They determine it's coming from downstairs.  Marisol leads the way and they're ready to oust the monster.  It's their dog, bouncing the ball off the dining room wall.  Dad said no when Marisol asked if the dog could sleep in her room.  Guess what?  Now he says yes and everyone sleeps through the night now.  

No monsters, none at all...

Maya's Blanket: La manta de Maya by Monica Brown, Ph.D., David Diaz (Illustrated by)

Maya's grandmother made her a pretty blanket with butterflies all over it.  She loves it!

Children's Book Press and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published on August 15th, so watch for it then.

This is a bilingual book.  It's done in English and Spanish.  Even in English you will have a few words to learn.  The tale is sweet.  When her blanket gets tattered, she and her grandmother look for ways to reuse it.  They start with a dress and it goes on from there.

I've got my first blanket I remember.  It's a leopard print blanket and I took it with me when I married.  It's pretty worn but I still love it.  I have it in my hope chest. My grandmother used to recycle her girl's clothing by making quilts out of them.  If they were too worn to be passed on to someone else, they became quilt squares.  You might not want to do a whole quilt, but pretty wall hangings are nice, too.  

Maya and her grandmother keep converting her blanket into smaller and small clothing or accessory items.  When Maya loses the last piece, she writes a book about it and this is her story.  Mr. Diaz does a wonderful job on the illustrations.  You'll want to read this one.