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From Horn Book

September 1, 2024
Adela loves mariachi music and her family's mariachi band. Her relatives all participate, either playing an instrument or dancing -- but not Adela. Her attempts to dance and to play la trompeta and la vihuela are frustrating, and she's too impatient to spend time learning. Vega takes readers through Adela's struggle, as she eventually finds her place in the band. Medina's illustrations teem with movement and color. The vibrant double-page spreads showcasing the various instruments are full of joy. Medina also leans into Adela's frustration and disappointment, and we feel her full emotive range. This book celebrates family, music, and finding one's place in a seemingly full space. An author's note provides information about mariachi history as well as some details about mariachi players in Vega's own family. Concurrently published in Spanish as Los mariachis de Adela. Yesica Hurd

(Copyright 2024 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From Publisher's Weekly

June 24, 2024
Adela loves everything about her family's mariachi band
("how the music skips and bounces.... how her family dances and claps")-except "the fact that she isn't in it." But her early attempts at playing various instruments and joining the dancers quickly reveal that becoming proficient will take a long time ("When Papá plays la trompeta, big, beautiful sounds burst out.... When Adela tries it, a small, fizzly sound dribbles out," Vega writes). Frustrated with her attempts, Adela makes a drawing of beloved mariachi elements that presages her own participation. Rodriguez Medina's warm-toned digital illustrations offer texture and depth to a story that conveys one child's early attempts at being part of something she loves. Characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author's note and sources conclude. Ages 4—7.