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Come for the art, stay for the fun

Cover of ¡Vamos! Let’s Cross the
A review of ¡Vamos! Let’s Cross the Bridge by Raúl the Third

Piñatas, cakes, rockets, presents, music…what else do you need for a party? Little Lobo and friends are back in this third ¡Vamos! book - winner of this year's Pura Belpré Youth Illustration Award - and are headed across the bridge for a big celebration in a city on the other side of the river in another country. Lots of people are crossing the bridge today, and when Little Lobo gets stuck in a traffic jam they pass the time observing all the fascinating sights. Still waiting in line as night falls, food trucks open up, bands start performing, piñatas are strung across the bridge, and fireworks explode high in the sky as the celebration comes to everyone.

From the dynamic endpapers to the incredible details on every page, the comic book style illustrations filled with text in English and Spanish celebrate this bilingual border town and beg for another look to notice something new with each read. A (partial) glossary at the end might teach you some new words in Spanish, and the author’s note shares the inspiration from a childhood spent crossing the bridge between El Paso and Ciudad Juárez.

Feb 14, 2022