Ana and her friends enjoy the school playground until they outgrow it in the sixth grade.On her first day of kindergarten, Ana goes down the slide to her new friends waiting at the bottom to meet her. As the school years go by, each year brings a new source of pleasure on the playground. In the first grade, another new friend encourages her to swing high. In the second grade, an outing to the zoo inspires a monkey game. In the third grade, basketball skills are developed, and in the fourth grade, she teaches her friend to play handball. In the fifth grade, the friends play soccer. But when they get to sixth grade, it is time to leave the playground for the younger kids. As they prepare to leave, they first relive all the games they played throughout their primary school years. Then it is time to say goodbye—until Ana returns to her school and playground, as a teacher. Always dressed in uniforms that suggest a parochial school, perhaps, the children come from different ethnic backgrounds. Ana herself has brown skin and long, black hair. The illustrations have a frozen, static feel, even when portraying the children in full movement, and the retrospective, nostalgic tone seems more appropriate to an adult audience than children. As is often the case with bilingual books, the pages can at times look very text heavy, with English above and Spanish beneath.Fails to engage. (Bilingual picture book. 5-8)

Gr 2-4 Playgrounds hold many memories, especially for a group of children who share playtime together since the beginning of their elementary school years. This is the story of Anna, who loved to swing, slide, play basketball, handball, and soccer with her school friends. One day the friends had to depart the playground so other small children can use it. In the absence of a plot, the book chronicles Anna and her friends as they experience playground activities from kindergarten to sixth grade. The narrative moves along as the characters grow, however it is difficult to determine whether this book will appeal to younger or older readers. The Spanish translation is faithful to its English counterpart; both texts ffollow a harmonious structure and are set in a comfortably big black font sharing space with the illustrations. The images follow the logical sequence of the text and portray the meaning of this narrative while expressing diversity through the varied races depicted of the children, who are always dressed in their school attire. Finally, although there is a disconnect between the age of the characters and the intended audience, the book has compelling subject matter that might appeal to older students. VERDICT A feel-good picture book that will appeal to older readers who are interested in Spanish or bilingual stories. Kathia Ibacache, Simi Valley Public Library, CA