It's not Novio Boy, the cool cat from Soto's Chato's Kitchen but Rudy and Alex from The Pool Party who are featured in this seven-scene play. Rudy, now a ninth-grader, asks an older woman, an eleventh-grader, out for his first date. In preparation, Rudy seeks advice from his best friend Alex, startles his mother with news of this recent development in his social activities, and asks his Chicano loafer and guitar-playing Uncle Juan for financing, but is somehow surprised when they all end up at the restaurant on the night of his big date. Soto's contemporary play is lighthearted and fun to read, but the liberal use of Spanish, which flavors and authenticates the dialogue, requires frequent trips to the extensive glossary at the end and may make the play difficult to perform for students not comfortable speaking Spanish. However, Novio Boy is, true to its title, a sweetheart of a play. (Reviewed April 15, 1997)

K-Gr 3-Strolling at the zoo, a girl is called aside-"Pssst!"-by a variety of animals who have special requests. The gorilla needs a new tire; the sloths, who are hanging upside down, could use bicycle helmets; and the penguins, some paint. "Why paint?" she asks. "Take a look around," they say. Their icy white world makes the request clear. Everything is purchased with coins the peacock collects from the fountains and delivered via wheelbarrow as suggested by the tortoise. The creatures then use their collective haul to build a getaway car, "The Zoomobile." While the girl is not aware of the zoo break, she's at least savvy enough, a week later at the circus, to rebuff the elephant as he tries to get her attention with a "pssst!" This book is intriguing more for its innovative artwork than for its slight, and slightly wacky, story line. The oil and acrylic illustrations are a combination of styles. Line art is printed on a revolving door of hues, including a peach-colored spread with sepia ink and a green page with blue ink. The girl stands out as seemingly three-dimensional, along with the animals. Conversations take place in six cartoon-style boxes per page. This is a clever title for visually sophisticated youngsters who will appreciate the off-the-wall humor.-Martha Topol, Traverse Heights Elementary School, MI Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.