"In their apartment, the beats are bumping.
An old record player spins.
Mr. Leon plays the bongos.
Mrs. Leon cha cha chas.
Baby Leon shakes his rattles.
I break in with my guitar."
It wasn't long ago that my almost six-year-old granddaughter announced she was going to plan her own birthday party. A bit of a surprise of course; she was full of excitement and absolutely convinced she could pull it off. There have been a few glitches, but she has handled them in much the same way that Esme does in this humorous early reader.
She lives with her grandparents on the top floor of the best of all possible buildings. It's her birthday, and the first one celebrated since moving in with Mimi and Pipo. They are filled with love for their granddaughter and gift her a guitar. Delighted, she offers to play it at her birthday party. What? They don't anything about party planning. Leave it to Esme.
"I think I can make a pinata.
I can bake a cake.
I can play music.
I can make a party all by myself."
Esme decides to invite everyone in their building to her party. Mimi discourages Esme from inviting Manny, the building superintendent. Esme will not be deterred. Esme promptly involves everyone in her building. The Garcia Sisters are enlisted to make curlicue pull strings. In a flash, the pinata is ready. The Mora sisters are gardeners, sewers and bakers. Voila! The cake is ready. The Leons are musicians, and offer to play at the party to avoid Esme's underwhelming competency on the guitar. Now, there is only Manny left. Will Manny attend?
I can't wait to share this book when the girls ger here!
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