 Hi everyone, thank you so much for joining us for Un Cuento Con, part of our Vida Latina program series celebrating Latino Heritage Month here at the Long Beach Public Library. Today, Alejandra Alvarrán-Moses, who is Long Beach's early childhood education coordinator, is going to read Isabel and Her Colores Go to School by Alexandra Alessandri. Let's see what this book is all about. Hay que ver de que se trata este libro. Hi everyone, I'm Alejandra Alvarrán-Moses and I'm excited to partner with the library to read Isabel and her Colores Go to School. It's written by Alexandra Alessandri and illustrated by Courtney Dawson. Let's go. The night before the first day of school, Isabel sat cross-legged on her bed, colorriando her favorite colors, rojo, verde, azul, rosado, morado, violeta. She was ready for class, except Isabel didn't speak much English. English sounded wrong, like stormy blue blizzards white. Isabel preferred pinks and yellows and purples of español. That night, Isabel dreamt of all the things that could go wrong. When Isabel awoke, she ran to her mommy. Her heart-pitter pattered like the summer's rain, no quiero ir. Isabel cried in the kitchen, I don't want to go. She whined at the door, please, por favor, she begged in the car. But it was too late, they were all ready at school. It's okay to be scared, mommy's voice was soft and amber like a ripened mango. She gave Isabel a squishy squashy hug, al mal tiempo buena cara, mommy said, to bad times a good face. Isabel's lips quivered and wobbled, her face tumbled down into a tight-worried frown. Welcome, said Miss Page, bienvenidos. Isabel heard night sky blue and sunrise orange swirling around her. The sound reminded her of mommy's café, bitter and brown. When the morning bell rang, Miss Page clapped her hands. Time for morning exercises, she said. Isabel wasn't sure what that meant. But when everyone stood, Isabel stood too. When everyone stretched, Isabel stretched too. One, two, three, the children counted, uno, dos, tres, Isabel echoed. She cringed at the colors crashing against each other, like planets colliding in explosion of stars. Everyone start stared, Isabel flushed cherry tomato red. After morning exercises, Miss Page wrote on the board, story time. Isabel watched as everyone settled on the rug. She stood frozen. There was no room for her. She felt small and lost as a colobri without its flowers. You can sit here, a girl said from the front. Isabel knew what here meant, and it was enough. Hi, said the girl. I'm Sarah. Isabel gave her a timid smile. Me llamo Isabel. Want to be friends? Sarah asked. Isabel shook her head. To be clear the colors of clutter in her head, her face warm to a rosy guava pink. No entiendo, she whispered. She didn't understand. Sarah's lip quivered. So did Isabel's. At lunchtime, Isabel sat by herself, doodling on her napkin. She drew corazones, encaritas, culebras, encaritos. Then she stopped. Even her crayons couldn't make her happy. School was no fun at all. She tried to keep the tears in. She really did, but they dribbled down her cheeks. Back in class, Miss Page sang, it's coloring time. Isabel set up straighter. Coloring sounded much like colorar. And when Miss Page laid her sheet in front of her, Isabel knew she had understood. She drew and colored and painted. She used reds and greens and blues, pinks and purples and violets. She remembered what mommy said, al mal tiempo buena cara. Isabel drew the best two faces she could. When she was done, she held her paper up to Sarah. Amigas, Isabel said, pointing first at one image and then at the other. Sarah's frown stretched into a smile. Amigas, Sarah repeated, friends. See, friends giggled Isabel. Sarah giggled too. Miss Page loved Isabel's drawing so much, she held it up for all to see. Awesome, what an artist. I want to draw like that. Stormy blues and blizzard white softened into a brilliant aquamarina just like home. Maybe school wouldn't be so bad after all. The end. What a great story, no, Isabel goes to school and even though she's a little nervous because she only speaks Español, she finds out that she can make a friend and be accepted by her classmates and her teacher even though they speak English. Awesome, awesome book. Once again, that was Isabel and Her Colores Go To School by Alexandra Alessandri. See you with the next Un Cuento Con and don't forget to check out the rest of our Video Latina program offerings. We're celebrating Latino Heritage Month all month long here at the Long Beach Public Library. Take care, adios.