In her first diary entry, Amada is anxious about her family's move from Juarez, Mexico, to Los Angeles. Despite her father's assurances, she worries that they will never return to Juarez, that she won't be able to learn English, and that he will have problems finding work. Amada records their travels, their stay with relatives in Mexicali, eventual journey to Los Angeles, and the joyful reunion with their father. Told consistently through the eyes and feelings of a child, the narrative successfully telescopes the family odyssey. The art, done in the style of murals, features broad-faced human figures and a vibrant palette highlighted by purples and turquoises. As in her previous book, My Very Own Room (2000), Perez tells her story in both Spanish and English (here the appended personal note is only in English). Any child who has moved away from a familiar neighborhood or a best friend will identify with Amada, but her story will especially resonate with immigrant kids.

Through Amada's diary entries, presented in a bilingual text, readers learn that her father has lost his job, so she and her family are moving from Mexico to Los Angeles. The narrative, based on the author's own experience, follows a predictable arc but is affecting nevertheless. Gonzalez's breathtaking illustrations blaze with color and capture the hilariously mundane details of life, such as the antics of Amada's unruly brothers.

<p>In an autobiographical outing written in English and Spanish, Amada tells her diary all about her fear of moving from her home in JuArez, Mexico, to not only a new town, but also a new country. Fortunately, she has a father who understands her trepidation and he tells her that as a child, he too had to make a similar move in reverse. Still, the trip is fraught with anxiety, especially since once they arrive in Mexicali, another border town, PapA will leave for Los Angeles to look for work. Once she arrives at her grandmother's, she's surrounded by helpful family members, her uncles telling jokes, doing magic tricks, and doing favors. Then she hears from her father who is picking in the fields of Delano, California. His news is not encouraging, but one day, he sends their green cards and they get set to leave for California. The diary follows them on their journey, until they reach Los Angeles and she closes with the news that PapA has found a better job. Filling her story with the details of this watershed in her life, PArez captures the essence of the trauma of moving to a new place that is universal to all children, but here it is expanded by the facts of her immigrant experience. Gonzalez, who teamed with PArez on My Room (not reviewed), packs her lively pages with vibrant, jewel-toned color and vivid images, illuminating the text and adding the richness of the culture. A nice touch is the back of the book jacket, which is a map of the area, showing the route from Amada's old home to the new one. PArez has plainly remembered her grandmother's advice: "Keep your language and culture alive in your diary and in your heart." Very nicely done. (Picture book. 5-9)</p>

Gr 2-4 A young girl is worried and apprehensive when she learns that her father has lost his job in Mexico and will be searching for work in the United States. The family leaves Juárez to live with relatives in Mexicali until her father sends for them. Her five younger brothers seem happy about the move, but Amada misses her home, her friends, and her father, who is saving money and getting green cards for his family. Based on the author's own experience, the diary entries, written in conversational English and Spanish, resonate with the tensions of the experience. Whether it's the constant moving from one relative's house to another or the girl's concern that after so many months her father will not recognize her, the problems of being uprooted and having to resettle in a strange country are delineated with feeling. The full-page, bright acrylic paintings complement the text, with the blocky primitive forms adding a reassuring note to the whole. This could be paired with Karen O'Connor's Dan Thuy's New Life in America (Lerner, 1992) for a look at the challenges immigrants to the United States face.