A Box Full of Kittens
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Marilyn Hersh, Hillside Elementary School, Farmington Hills, MI -- School Library Journal, 5/15/2008
A Box Full of Kittens. video or DVD. 17 min. with tchr’s. guide. Nutmeg Media. 2007. video: ISBN 1-933938-46-3, DVD: ISBN 1-933938-37-4. $49.95.
PreS-Gr 2–Ruthie yearns to be a superhero. So when her parents ask her to keep Aunt Juanita company right before her baby is due to arrive, Ruthie flies down the street of her Puerto Rican neighborhood in the Bronx. Her aunt has food cravings, and Ruthie runs down the steps of her aunt’s apartment building and into the bodega to buy some goodies. When a shopkeeper gives Ruthie a box of kittens to play with, the girl forgets all about her aunt. Aunt Juanita goes into labor and Ruthie misses the whole event. It is only later, at the welcome party for the new baby, that Aunt Juanita validates Ruthie’s role in helping the baby to “come” by being a superhero and getting the foods she craved. Rosie, happy again, is asked to be the first to hold the new baby. The story (Atheneum, 2007), written by Sonia Manzano (Maria on Sesame Street), is narrated by the author with the lilt of the barrio in her voice. She sprinkles in some Spanish words, like the foods the aunt craves. Matt Phelan’s watercolor and pen-and-ink illustrations are slightly animated to show Ruthie’s superhero energy and exuberance. Some sound effects add to the telling. In a conversation with the author at the end of the tale, Manzano explains how the story reflects her own experiences as a Puerto Rican growing up in the Bronx. Youngsters will appreciate the affirmation of Ruthie’s role in her extended family. Hispanic students will especially relate to the neighborhood feeling of the story, the Spanish vocabulary, and the author’s culturally rich narration.
