Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Tue Jan 03 00:00:00 CST 2023)

A long walk to school.A brown-skinned child walks 9 kilometers-more than 5 miles-every day to go to school through challenging and uncharted paths in Chile. The child leaves home when it's still dark, passing beneath wire fences, walking by wooded areas that conceal wild felines, and even traversing rivers. Although the narrator's difficulties are many, they maintain a positive attitude and are grateful that they and their classmates can attend school, regardless of how they get there. The child's teacher once said that it takes 1,600 steps to walk a kilometer; 9 kilometers would be 15,000 steps. The child wonders if that's right, considering their shortcuts and leaps as well as the fact that their legs are short. Both matter-of-fact and full of musings, this Chilean import, translated from Spanish, perfectly captures a child's experience. The painterly art relies on hues that are by turns somber and more vibrant and on many aerial shots, which make the native Chilean birds part of the story, like spectators awaiting the narrator's arrival at school. The meticulous attention to detail in the illustrations-for instance, in the portrayal of animals-makes for an immersive experience. Backmatter describes the stories of other children around the world who walk similar paths and identifies the birds found in the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)A brilliantly illustrated account of an arduous-yet deeply rewarding-journey. (Picture book. 5-8)

School Library Journal Starred Review (Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Gr 1–2 —In this empathy-building picture book, a simple first-person narration is employed to share the story of a young boy traveling on foot to school in rural Chile across the titular nine kilometers, or 5.59 miles. His walk begins in the dark and cold as he ponders math equations using his own route, estimating the number of skips it would take to cross the distance he walks, and how slowly a snail or how quickly a puma might travel the same distance. His path takes him on roads, through wooded areas, beneath a barbed wire fence, through a pasture, and across a stream. As the boy travels closer to school, the illustrations become more verdant and lush. The book begins with a helpful guide converting metric distance to imperial miles. Endpapers map the route as it would be seen from above, describe the various Chilean birds depicted in the illustrations, and share examples from other countries in which children walk several kilometers to reach school each day. VERDICT With an overarching message that education is well worth the walk, this book is recommended for all picture book collections.—Lauren Younger

ALA Booklist (Tue Feb 28 00:00:00 CST 2023)

This Chilean story opens in darkness. An owl flies overhead as lights shine from the windows of a small house. A woman sees a young boy off as he begins walking to school. He travels on roads, through woods, and under a barbed wire fence across a pasture. The text discusses the distance as the boy counts and compares steps and different animals' rates of speed, all while the acrylic illustrations add important details such as how he props up the barbed wire with a stick so he may crawl underneath and how he pays attention to animal tracks. The boy crosses one river by hopping on rocks and another one using a hand-pulled rope ferry. Nine kilometers he walks each way, each day. At the end, small paintings of children from eight countries depict how they travel to school. Showing their circumstances underscores the message that these are current, not historical, conditions, and conveys the importance of education to families across the world.

Horn Book (Fri Jan 13 00:00:00 CST 2023)

Originally published in Chile, this picture book begins with a quick chart comparing meters to miles (nine kilometers equals 5.59 miles), then the main text begins. A child wearing boots, jeans, and a backpack starts a long early-morning trek: "It's still dark when I leave home." The first-person narration describes counting steps (fifteen thousand on this walk), butterflies, and lizards in order to pass the time. Most of the story is revealed in the atmospheric acrylic paintings; for example, we see the child use a forked stick to raise the bottom of a barbed-wire fence and crawl through. The illustrations vary the point of view, so sometimes we are watching the protagonist, and other times we have a bird's-eye view that demonstrates how small the child is and what a long way there is to go. One particularly effective picture shows the character crossing a cow pasture, looking tiny in the expanse with the bigger animals. The matter-of-fact tone is echoed in the closing pages, which give information on the distances children in various parts of the world might travel to school -- revealed at the end to be our narrator's destination -- using specific examples. Additional information about the birds seen in the pictures is appended. The protagonist's path is shown on the endpapers, perhaps encouraging readers to compare their own routes to school. Susan Dove Lempke

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

A long walk to school.A brown-skinned child walks 9 kilometers-more than 5 miles-every day to go to school through challenging and uncharted paths in Chile. The child leaves home when it's still dark, passing beneath wire fences, walking by wooded areas that conceal wild felines, and even traversing rivers. Although the narrator's difficulties are many, they maintain a positive attitude and are grateful that they and their classmates can attend school, regardless of how they get there. The child's teacher once said that it takes 1,600 steps to walk a kilometer; 9 kilometers would be 15,000 steps. The child wonders if that's right, considering their shortcuts and leaps as well as the fact that their legs are short. Both matter-of-fact and full of musings, this Chilean import, translated from Spanish, perfectly captures a child's experience. The painterly art relies on hues that are by turns somber and more vibrant and on many aerial shots, which make the native Chilean birds part of the story, like spectators awaiting the narrator's arrival at school. The meticulous attention to detail in the illustrations-for instance, in the portrayal of animals-makes for an immersive experience. Backmatter describes the stories of other children around the world who walk similar paths and identifies the birds found in the artwork. (This book was reviewed digitally.)A brilliantly illustrated account of an arduous-yet deeply rewarding-journey. (Picture book. 5-8)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

Long before the sun rises, a nameless Chilean child starts walking nine kilometers to school, mindful en route of the activity around them. Sliding beneath barbed wire, navigating forest and field, and traveling over water by cable ferry, the narrator likes “to walk and count,” keeping track of butterflies or lizards. Throughout, Aguilera’s rhythmic lines note the distance in metric terms and via different animals’ speeds, and envision the distance in terms of buildings and aircraft carriers. Sensorial phrases speak to the child’s varying experiences of the journey: “There are days when 9 kilometers feels like a stone inside a worn-out shoe. Other days, however, the steps feel as sweet as a handful of blackberries or a ripe apple, and they pass as quickly as a shadow.” Lyon’s saturated, painterly illustrations capture the text’s thoughtful mood, visualizing the walk—and the antics of various animal and bird species—across landscapes both wide-lens and zoomed-in. Contemplating, per an end note, “the construction of a society in which education is a right and not a privilege,” this is a narrative to encounter again and again. An opening note defines imperial and metric units; back matter details various children’s long walks to school and describes birds of southern Chile. Ages 5–9. (Feb.)