Pepita is almost always happy. But she isn’t today. She’s not happy because everything is different on her new street. There’s no familiar grocery store on the corner, and no tortilla shop squeezed right next to it. Tía Rosa’s house isn’t down the street, and worst of all, her best friend Sonya no longer lives right next door. Pepita is definitely not happy about her move to Pepper Street.
But her dog Lobo doesn’t mind the new neighborhood, and in fact, he likes the new smells he encounters as Pepita walks him up and down the street. He even wags his tail at the new people they meet: Mrs. Green, who wears a straw hat while weeding her rose garden; Mrs. Becker, who paints the pepper trees, and her dog, Blackie; and José, the mailman, who hopes Lobo won’t bite him. Soon, Pepita realizes that her father’s suggestion—“the best way to stop feeling new is to get to know people”—is good advice. And when a girl with bright red hair named Katie Ann comes by to visit, Pepita learns that making new friends isn’t so hard after all.
This colorful bilingual picture book focuses on the tough transition that many kids make: adjusting to a new neighborhood and making new friends. Readers ages 3 to 7 will root for plucky Pepita as she learns to like life on Pepper Street.
Recipient of a 1996 Skipping Stones Award
“Clearly the best side-by-side children’s book.” —Los Angeles Times
OFELIA DUMAS LACHTMAN was born in Los Angeles of Mexican-immigrant parents. She is the author of several bilingual picture books, including Big Enough / Bastante grande (Piñata Books, 1998), and five other books in the Pepita series: Pepita Packs Up / Pepita empaca (Piñata Books, 2005); Pepita Finds Out / Lo que Pepita descubre (Piñata Books, 2002); Pepita Takes Time / Pepita, siempre tarde (Piñata Books, 2000); Pepita Thinks Pink / Pepita y el color rosado (Piñata Books, 1998); and Pepita Talks Twice / Pepita habla dos veces (Piñata Books, 1995).
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, ALEX PARDO DELANGE was raised there and in Buenos Aires, Argentina before coming to the United States, where she graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree. She now lives in Gainesville, Florida with her husband and three children. In addition to her art for the Pepita Series, she is also the illustrator of The Empanadas that Abuela Made / Las empanadas que hacía la abuela (Piñata Books, 2003); Tina and the Scarecrow Skins / Tina y las pieles de espantapájaros (Piñata Books, 2002); and Sip, Slurp, Soup Soup / Caldo, caldo, caldo (Piñata Books, 2002).
ATOS Interest Level: Lower Grades
Category: Picture Book
ATOS English: 2.9
ATOS Spanish: 3.2
Accelerated Reader Quiz #: 123868
