Marisol McDonald and the Monster / Marisol McDonald y el monstruo

by Monica Brown, Sara Palacios (Illustrator)

Overview

Bilingual English/Spanish. Free-spirited Marisol confronts her fear of monsters and unfamiliar nighttime noises.

Marisol McDonald loves words that begin with the letter m-except the word monster. Monsters are scary, with big eyes, wild fur, pointy claws, and sharp teeth. One night, when Marisol hears loud bumps under her bed, she is immediately convinced that a monster is making the noise. Checking under the bed does not reveal a monster, but night after night, the bumps continue. When the bumps become especially loud one night, Marisol bravely leads the charge downstairs to find the cause. Turns out the monster making noise under Marisol's bed does have eyes and fur and teeth, but it isn't scary at all. It's her dog, Kitty, playing ball against the kitchen wall.

Monica Brown and Sara Palacios once again bring Marisol McDonald to life. With her orange-red hair, golden-brown skin, and endearing individuality, Peruvian-Scottish-American Marisol learns to face her fears in this empowering story of harnessing the imagination and conquering nighttime monsters.

Check out the other titles in this series:

MARISOL MCDONALD AND THE CLASH BASH / MARISOL MCDONALD Y LA FIESTA SIN IGUAL • MARISOL MCDONALD AND THE MONSTER / MARISOL MCDONALD Y EL MONSTRUO • MARISOL MCDONALD DOESN'T MATCH / MARISOL MCDONALD NO COMBINA

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780892393268
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books
Publication date:	05/15/2016
Series:	Marisol McDonald
Edition description:	Bilingual
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.20(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Language:	Spanish
Lexile:	AD570L (what's this?)
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Monica Brown is the award-winning author of over thirty books for children, including Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match/no combina, Sharuko, Maya's Blanket/la manta de Maya, Waiting for the Biblioburro, Frida and Her Animalitos, and El Cuarto Turquesa/The Turquoise Room, as well as the Lola Levine chapter book series, among many others. She is the recipient of the Christopher Award, two Américas Awards, and multiple starred reviews. Her work has been translated into a dozen languages, and has appeared in the New York Times, The Washington Post, and on NPR's All Things Considered. When not writing for children, Brown serves as a professor of English at Northern Arizona University, where she teaches about US Latino and multicultural literature. Brown lives with her family in Flagstaff, Arizona. Her website is monicabrown.net.

Sara Palacios was born in Mexico City. She holds degrees in Graphic Design, Illustration, and Digital Graphic Techniques, and is pursuing her MFA in Illustration at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She divides her time between Mexico City and San Francisco, California. Her website is sarapalacios.com.

Editorial Reviews

"Fans of the Marisol McDonald series will welcome their imaginative friend in this latest addition. . . . This lively bilingual story is, in true Monica Brown style, both universal and culturally specific, highlighting an interracial, bicultural family and a common childhood fear." — Booklist

"As Marisol explores her fright, she is surrounded by a loving and supportive family. Her parents both reassure her she is safe and provide her the necessary independence to face her fear. . . . Marvelously mismatched Marisol McDonald brings her unique perspective to the exploration of the universal topic of fear." — Kirkus Reviews

"Her anxieties about the unknown are relatable, and Palacios's cozy mixed-media images never let things get too scary for readers with their own insecurities regarding los monstruos." — Publishers Weekly

"Marisol McDonald is back and is as magical, mismatched, and marvelous as ever. . . . Young readers will be inspired to talk about their fears and face them head-on with confidence and creativity. A must-have for all collections." — School Library Journal

CCBC Choices - Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Junior Library Guild Selection

From the Publisher

02/08/2016
In her third bilingual picture book, Marisol McDonald, who is of Scottish and Peruvian descent, highlights her love of words that begin with the letter m, except for one: monsters. After a couple nights of less-than-great sleep, Marisol takes control of her fear by making a friendly three-legged sock monster. Beyond the full Spanish translation of the story, Brown integrates occasional Spanish words into the English recounting in a way that feels natural to Marisol’s daily experience (“If monsters were real, would they have mamis?” she asks her Mami). Her anxieties about the unknown are relatable, and Palacios’s cozy mixed-media images never let things get too scary for readers with their own insecurities regarding los monstruos. Ages 5–8. Author’s agent: Stefanie Von Borstel, Full Circle Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Kendra Marcus, Bookstop Literary. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

05/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—Marisol McDonald is back and is as magical, mismatched, and marvelous as ever. Marisol loves Monday mornings, her favorite maestra, milk, mangoes, and lots of other things that begin with the letter m. According to her brother, Marisol is too old to be afraid of monsters, but that doesn't stop her from imagining the spookiest monster she can dream up. In an effort to take control of her anxiety, the ever-creative Marisol decides to make her own friendly, one-of-a-kind sock puppet monster, Melody, so that the idea of a monster doesn't seem as scary. But when she begins hearing loud bumps in the night, she convinces herself that her worst fear is becoming a reality: that there's a hairy, mean, sharp-tooth monster living under her bed! With the help of her loving and supportive family, Marisol faces her fears and finally solves the mystery. As with Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match and Marisol McDonald and the Clash Bash, the high-quality bilingual text is slightly mismatched, but the inclusion of two glossaries will ensure comprehension in both Spanish and English, making the tale an ideal choice for one-on-one reading. Whimsical and thoughtfully bicultural mixed-media illustrations lend themselves to the relatable nature of the story. Young readers will be inspired to talk about their fears and face them head-on with confidence and creativity. VERDICT A must-have for all collections.—Natalie Braham, Denver Public Library

School Library Journal

2016-02-17
When Marisol McDonald hears a bump in the night, her imagination goes wild, making her certain there must be a monster beneath her bed. As Marisol explores her fright, she is surrounded by a loving and supportive family. Her parents both reassure her she is safe and provide her the necessary independence to face her fear. After several sleepless nights, Marisol applies her signature pluck to the monster situation, finding a creative way to confront her anxiety head on. Palacios' mixed-media illustrations temper Marisol's jitters with whimsy, keeping the imagery on the light side of scary. One drawback to the text is that the effort to emphasize various words that begin with the letter "m" in both English and Spanish strays into didacticism, though the "m" words selected do display great care both from Brown and translator Dominguez, which lovers of words will appreciate. Marisol's mixed Peruvian and Scottish-American heritage is, as always, a vibrant part of who she is, but cultural identity is not the focus of this work. Marisol is a confident, bicultural girl who brings all parts of herself to the table to overcome a very common worry faced by children the world over. Marvelously mismatched Marisol McDonald brings her unique perspective to the exploration of the universal topic of fear. (author's note, bilingual glossary) (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews