This sweet chapter book introduces Esme, a brown-skinned, smiling little girl who lives on the top floor of a rather dilapidated small brick apartment building with her Mimi and Popo. On her first birthday after moving in with her grandparents, they gift her with a guitar and she's thrilled... but what about a birthday party? Nothing daunted, Esme sets off to put together her own birthday party, complete with pinata, music, and cake, by inviting all the residents of the building to share in her celebration and contribute their own unique skills.
Esme's cheerful friendliness wins over everyone, even when the music teacher winces at her playing and the elderly sisters are overwhelmed by her exuberance. Even Manny, the grouchy caretaker in the basement, gets an invite and readers will giggle over Esme's cheerful indifference to his bad temper as she bounces off on the stairs, having set the elevator on fire! Soon, Esme is conga'ing her way back home, accompanied by all the residents of the building who are ready for a party! In the end, even Manny can't resist her and gives a grudging smile as she shares her cake.
Esme's unstoppable optimism shines through as she bounces into each apartment, cheerfully assuming everyone will naturally be thrilled to help and participate in her birthday party. There's no explanation for why she's living with her grandparents and she briskly accepts that they don't know about birthday parties and moves on to arrange things for herself without whining or complaining. Although there's no specific Spanish included in the story, and "Mimi and Popo" are not specifically Spanish titles, Esme's cat's name "El Toro" and the flavor of the apartment and her friends mark her as coming from a Latinx heritage.
Verdict: A charming beginning chapter book that will make readers giggle as well as a normalizing representation of a child being raised by their grandparents. Recommended.
ISBN: 9780735269408; Published 2022 by Tundra; Borrowed from another library in my consortium
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