Book Description
for Muchos Changes by Juana Medina
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Juana wants to roller skate—until she tries it. She cannot stay upright. Mami tells her she must try skating five times before she gives up, and then she springs two sopresas: The first surprise is that she has signed Juana up for a summer day camp devoted to roller skating, and the second is that Mami is going to have a baby. Juana is not thrilled with either surprise, but she grudgingly goes to roller skating camp, where she finds that all the other kids have fancier skates but none of them can skate any better than she can. Throughout the summer, she improves her skating skills and makes some new amigos, while Mami is confined to bed for the remainder of her pregnancy due to a “hole in the sack where the baby is growing.” When Juana’s new sister eventually comes, she is born premature and has to stay in the hospital in an incubator. The details about the premature baby are realistically presented, both textually and visually, but the emotional heart of the story always remains true to Juana and her interests and interactions with the rest of the world. The humorous, lively text captures Juana’s high-spirited personality, and the frequent color illustrations in pen and ink illustrate Juana’s distinctive world view. (Ages 4-7)
CCBC Choices 2022. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2022. Used with permission.