Lissie (white) hopes to learn Spanish on the trip she’s taking with her dad and grandma to visit her dad’s friend Raúl, who lives “where most people speak Spanish.” Word by word, phrase by phrase, Lissie’s Spanish skills expand in that faraway place where she has both new and familiar experiences and meets many kind people. Raúl takes them to do “local” things, like playing soccer (fútbol) in a park (parque), and “touristy” things, like visiting a Mayan pyramid, where the guide also teaches Lissie a little Kaqchikel—his first language. Time with Flory and Mateo, children of Raúl’s girlfriend, Ana, is filled with fun, good feeling, and lots of Spanish; it isn’t long before they’re making and exchanging friendship bracelets (las puseras de la Amistad). At the airport on the way home, Lissie uses her limited but ever-growing Spanish skills to lead a couple of restless younger kids in a game of Simón dice (Simon Says). Lissie also gives them each a friendship bracelet. “I know it’s not a real friendship,” she tells her grandma. “But it felt like a tiny one.” Her grandma replies, “The world is held together by tiny friendships. And bigger ones too, of course.” Black-and-white drawings illustrate elements of Lissie’s trip, as well as some of the words, phrases, and concepts she is learning in Spanish, with phonetic pronunciation and English translation provided in this quietly captivating, full-hearted story. (Ages 7-10)