Ivo y la piedrita

PreS-Gr 1—In this whimsical trio of books featuring Ivo, imagination reigns supreme. In Ivo y la piedrita, as Ivo walks down the street, he realizes he's not enjoying it, not one bit. He's tired and bored. When he finds a small stone to play with, his mundane surroundings change. The pedestrian walkway becomes a giant piano, the construction cranes become giraffes, and the city buses become accordions. When he eventually loses the stone down a drain, Ivo finds he has now discovered a new way to look at the city and appreciate his walk. In Ivo y los lobos, Ivo does not like wolves, not one bit. When he finds a piece of coal, everything changes. Ivo draws a beast to defend him that is so fierce-looking, it scares him—until Ivo realizes it is there to protect him. In Ivo y la zanahoria, Ivo does not like being alone, not one bit—until he finds a plant and everything changes. As he pulls on the plant, he finds it's a carrot, and attached to the carrot is a rabbit, and attached to that is a hat, and so on. Eventually Ivo finds himself in plenty of company. Making ample use of white space and a limited palette of mostly grays, with touches of color on each page that make the illustrations pop, Portes's lighthearted depictions go hand in hand with the text. The empowering message that imagination can help conquer boredom, fear, and loneliness is delivered with a light touch.