No, no, I don't want to go to school!
Five-year-old Luna isn't sure she wants to go school. For all she knows, there might be monsters there. But when her loving parents assure her that she'll have a wonderful time playing and learning, she agrees to give school a try. An understanding teacher and a group of friendly kids make Luna very, very glad she made the right decision. But what about the monsters?
Américas Award winner Jorge Argueta has crafted a loving bilingual tale which all young school-goers will recognize as their own. Artist Elizabeth Gómez‘s luminous, humorous illustrations of Luna and her friends will keep little ones fascinated for a long time to come.
Jorge Argueta, a widely honored poet and writer, was born in El Salvador. His children’s books have received numerous prestigious prizes, including the Américas Award, the Independent Publishers Award, and the Skipping Stones Honor Award. He works extensively with children, leading workshops in schools and libraries and reading his stories, and also with humanitarian organizations throughout the U.S. He lives in San Francisco, California.
Elizabeth Gómez is a native of Mexico City. She has received high praise and numerous honors for her spirited, imaginative artwork, most currently, the America's Award, and the Latino Spirit Award. Her two daughters like having a painter for a mom, even if sometimes that means they have to be very quiet while she works. She lives in Redwood City, California.
• 2005 NAPPA, Gold Award
"Argueta and illustrator Gómez have once again teamed up successfully to produce a genuinely thoughtful and beautifully written bilingual children's books. This story indulges the reader in the childhood pleasures of playfulness while providing for those teachable moments that can make or break that first entrance into school." — MultiCultural Review
"Argueta's poetic prose, with its reassuring rhythms and dynamic cadence, begs to be read aloud. The childlike pictorial quality of Gómez's acrylic paint and crayon illustrations, bursting with vibrant, mouth-watering colors, brings to life the cozy home and loving family of little Luna, as well as the figments of her sometimes comical and monster-oriented imagination." —Bloomsbury Review
"This timeworn theme is made fresh with a lively, bilingual text full of familial love and Gómez's brilliant acrylic illustrations..." — Kirkus Reviews
"This bilingual picture book presents with charming simplicity the fears five-year-old Luna experiences as she faces her first day of school. . . The Spanish text, which was written first, has a pleasing poetic structure and a comforting rhythm that will reassure young listeners that Luna's fears will dissipate, even as she goes through the day, monster by her side. . . The art, well matched to the story, has the flat perspective and the vibrant colors of contemporary Latin American art, and Luna's little monster, in crayon-box colors rather than paint, gives the story a touch of magic realism. Although the family is Latino, the story's appeal is universal."— Booklist
"The acrylic illustrations are charmingly primitive, with lots of zingy action and a kindergarten monster crayoned in. It mimics Luna's feelings, enhancing the poetic texts. . . this will help allay those first-day fears." —School Library Journal
