Agooma and Her Little Nietos

What arrived in this excerpt is mostly frame material—dedication, note for grown-ups, discussion questions, a classroom activity—rather than the story pages themselves, so I'm judging largely on what the book is for and how thoughtfully it's been built around that purpose. On that front, this is a book that knows exactly who it's for and doesn't waver from it. The choice to keep 'nietos' as the Spanish word for grandchildren, and to build an entire kindness exercise around honoring family names from other languages and cultures, is the real substance here: 'Say It With Care by trying to pronounce special names respectfully' is a small, concrete, teachable instruction that a parent or teacher can actually use, not just a gesture toward diversity.

The backmatter is unusually generous for a picture book—twelve discussion questions, a Love Map activity with a full sharing script, and a signable 'Promise to Honor Family Love'—which tells me this is conceived as a read-together, talk-together book, not just a bedtime read. That's a real strength for the caregiver audience, even if it makes the book function partly as curriculum. The emotional core, Agooma's love landing in 'hugs, stories, playtime, and the simple joy of being together,' is plainly stated rather than dramatized in what I've seen, but it's sincere and it will land with families who share this exact shape of love—a grandmother, a special name, four kids with four different personalities (a builder, a dreamer, an explorer, a baby). This is a book for a specific real family that will resonate with many others just like it.