Saraí en primer plano (Sarai in the Spotlight)

Sarai Gonzalez #2

by Sarai González, Monica Brown, Christine Almeda (Illustrator)

The Spanish edition of Sarai in the Spotlight!
When Sarai's best friend suddenly moves away, Sarai has to navigate school -- and the unfriendly girls in the cafeteria -- all by herself. Then, new girl Christina moves to town and the teacher volunteers Sarai to show her around. But Sarai thinks Christina is not at all like her--she never wants to play at recess, she's always got her head in a notebook and she's so shy! But when Christina writes Sarai a spoken-word poem for her to recite at the class talent show, Sarai learns that sometimes winning teams are made from unlikely pairs!

La maestra de Saraí le pide que ayude a una niña nueva que acaba de llegar a la escuela. Saraí piensa que la niña nueva no se parece en nada a ella; está siempre estudiando y es muy tímida. ¿Cambiará de opinión cuando la niña escriba un poema para que recite en el espectáculo de la escuela?

Genres: Latinx, School, Friendship, Family

112 pages, Paperback

Published October 30, 2018

About the author

Sarai Gonzalez became an overnight sensation after appearing in Bomba Estéreo’s, “Soy Yo,” a music video about embracing yourself and loving your flaws. The video garnered over 30 million views and The New York Times called Sarai a Latina icon. Sarai and the Meaning of Awesome is the first book in her new chapter book series inspired by her life.

Reviews

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm really loving this series. It's riding that line between early chapter and midgrade fiction, and has realistic and achievable wins.

[Bethany · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Sarai's friend Isa moves away, she's upset because she's left at school all alone. It's especially hard because of the mean girls who pick on her. Sarai's sister defends her, but she still misses Isa. Then a new girl named Christina enters the school and Sarai gives her the tour. Sarai also learns that Christina loves to write and is currently focused on unicorns.

When their teacher announces that the school will be having a talent show, Sarai knows she wants to participate. Christina and Sarai decide to work together and Sarai does a reading of one of Christina's poem. She makes it come to life!

I like that Sarai writes letters to Isa, so their friendship will continue. The illustrations are cute and perfect for children. SARAI IN THE SPOTLIGHT teaches about the importance of friendship and standing up for yourself. It's pretty amazing that this was also written by a young girl named Sarai. It's inspired by her life.


Final Verdict: I would recommend this to fans of friendship and talent shows. It's also good for those going through a hard time at school.

[Allyson Bogie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Sarai’s books and I think they belong in every library!

[Nicki Ruby Nolen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the spanish version

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really good. My favorite part was paint tag because it was very funny And looks fun.

[Margaret Boling · Rating 4 out of 5]

11/4/2018 ~ In this second book, Sarai moves from fighting for her family to navigating the complex relations among the girls at her school. I thoroughly enjoyed the inclusion of Spanish and Sarai's individuality. I also appreciated the inclusion of a "at home dad" and a computer programmer mom. I look forward to sharing this Junior Fiction chapter book with my 2nd and 3rd grade (and even 4th & 5th grade) readers.

[Lisa Huninghake · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! The author is young and knows her topic, “her life as a kid”, well. Please make sure you keep writing, Sarai Gonzalez. I want more kids to read and be inspired by your stories!

[W A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how Sarai makes a new friend and how she react when her old friend moves to another state!!