Growing Up on the Playground/Nuestro patio de recreo

Gr 2–4—Playgrounds hold many memories, especially for a group of children who share playtime together since the beginning of their elementary school years. This is the story of Anna, who loved to swing, slide, play basketball, handball, and soccer with her school friends. One day the friends had to depart the playground so other small children can use it. In the absence of a plot, the book chronicles Anna and her friends as they experience playground activities from kindergarten to sixth grade. The narrative moves along as the characters grow, however it is difficult to determine whether this book will appeal to younger or older readers. The Spanish translation is faithful to its English counterpart; both texts ffollow a harmonious structure and are set in a comfortably big black font sharing space with the illustrations. The images follow the logical sequence of the text and portray the meaning of this narrative while expressing diversity through the varied races depicted of the children, who are always dressed in their school attire. Finally, although there is a disconnect between the age of the characters and the intended audience, the book has compelling subject matter that might appeal to older students.