Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match / Marisol McDonald no combina

Title: Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match / Marisol McDonald no combina

Bibliographic information:

Author: Monica Brown

Illustrator: Sara Palacios

Translator: Monica Brown

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Children's Book Press; Bilingual edition (September 27, 2011)
• Language: English, Spanish

Reader's Annotation:

Marisol McDonald doesn’t match - and she doesn’t want to.  She loves that she is is a Pirate/Soccer/Princess girl, and that nothing about her matches!  But will she give in to pressure to be just like everyone else?

Interest Level: Ages 4-8

Lexile level: 580

Awards, if applicable: Not Applicable

Plot summary: Marisol McDonald doesn’t match - this Scottish-Peruvian girl loves to wear stripes and polka dots and eat peanut butter and jelly burritos and be a soccer-playing pirate.  She delights in the fact that she isn’t like anyone else.   But sometimes, it gets to be a bit much when everyone tells you that you are wrong.  So one day, she tries to match.  Will she pull it off?

Critical review:  One of the most fascinating aspects of this book is the way that Monica Brown uses language.  Marisol McDonald is clearly established as a bilingual young girl who is comfortable in her world - and this reflects in her language.  On the sections of text that are in English, when Marisol is exited a few Spanish words slip in.  And on the opposite page, in the Spanish language section - the same word in English is slipped into the text.  This use of language establishes Marisol as an authentic and interesting character.

Why include it?

Most bilingual picture books are awkward at best, with stilted language which doesn’t sound like anything a child might say.  This wonderful book, with an excellent character (not unlike many multicultural children in the US) has a fabulous command of language and is overall excellent.