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crowyhead's review against another edition
3.0
A sweetly illustrated, bilingual picture book that addresses an important concern. Unfortunately, I think children of the age of the intended audience will have a hard time with the open-ended ending and lack of resolution to Luca's predicament. A good one for sharing together, but maybe frustrating for small children.
bargainandbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Luca’s bridge is a story about a family living in the USA who is forced into deporting back to Mexico. Into uncertainty. Into poverty.
I have opinions. However. For this review I will simply state that the images are beautiful. Dark and brooding with hints of color and beautifully illustrated. The story is sad, and makes me uncomfortable.
I implore anyone with children to read this book. No matter your stance on immigration please do not allow it to be faceless.
I have opinions. However. For this review I will simply state that the images are beautiful. Dark and brooding with hints of color and beautifully illustrated. The story is sad, and makes me uncomfortable.
I implore anyone with children to read this book. No matter your stance on immigration please do not allow it to be faceless.
graypeape's review against another edition
5.0
A good story to help children understand what the children of deportees go through, leaving behind their homes, their friends, everything they know, to go to a country they know little about, with a language they might not even know how to speak. Luca and his older brother are U.S. citizens because they were born here, but his parents aren't citizens, and must leave. To keep the family together, the boys go with their parents. When they arrive in Mexico, they go to live with Luca's grandmother in her small house. In his dreams that night, Luca's trumpet nudges him awake, and together they play a magical song that creates a bridge to take Luca back home. He visits his old apartment building, sees his father's ice cream truck, goes to his school and sees all his friends, playing his trumpet all the while. He laughs with joy, in his dream and in real life, and wakes everyone in the house. He tells them about his dream, and they laugh too, because happy laughter is contagious. The laughter sounds like music to Luca, and he plays his trumpet while his family dances, and for a little while, their sadness is gone. I loved the hopeful note this ended on, but we know it will still be very hard for this family to start anew in a different country. The author's afterward talks more about deportation and the impact it has on immigrant families. The illustrations are soft and beautiful, with bright glimpses of color and lots of detail. Every family with children should read this together, and try to put themselves in Luca's family's place.
#LucasBridgeElPuenteDeLuca #NetGalley
#LucasBridgeElPuenteDeLuca #NetGalley
mldavisreads's review
challenging
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
3.5
Children's bilingual book. Luca and his family are leaving their home in the United States to go back to Mexico, where his parents are from. Though both Luca and his brother are US citizens, their parents are not. In order to keep the family together, they all go back to live with Luca's grandmother. Luca is nervous about leaving his friends and not speaking Spanish. Luckily he is able to keep his beloved trumpet, and has a dream where his music builds a bridge that lets him visit home last time.
I like that this story focuses on the immigration issue by showing one family's story. The issue is so nuanced that it's hard for children to understand on a broader level. It seemed short though, there was no start of seeing Luca's family in the US, just as they were starting to leave. The illustrations were very peaceful, with a black, blue, and yellow color palette that matched the quiet, sad tone of the story. I also appreciated that there were no encounters with law enforcement, as I know is not always the case, but that made it easier to focus on the feelings of the family members. The format of this story is kind of interesting-- the text makes it too long for a picture book and really even an I Can Read text, but there are no chapters so it's not an early chapter book. We simply have it with our other bilingual books, but classifying it might be harder for those that have more subdivision on those shelves.
I like that this story focuses on the immigration issue by showing one family's story. The issue is so nuanced that it's hard for children to understand on a broader level. It seemed short though, there was no start of seeing Luca's family in the US, just as they were starting to leave. The illustrations were very peaceful, with a black, blue, and yellow color palette that matched the quiet, sad tone of the story. I also appreciated that there were no encounters with law enforcement, as I know is not always the case, but that made it easier to focus on the feelings of the family members. The format of this story is kind of interesting-- the text makes it too long for a picture book and really even an I Can Read text, but there are no chapters so it's not an early chapter book. We simply have it with our other bilingual books, but classifying it might be harder for those that have more subdivision on those shelves.
etienne02's review
2.0
2,5/5. I like the art with it simple drawing and pencil colors but the story wasn’t for me. The first part was good and realistic but then it became too «dreamy» and we kind of lost the meaning of it.
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