AUTHOR: Pedro Solís
PUBLISHER: Bruño
GENRE: Children/Young
READER’S NAME: Annette Vázquez
DATE: April 11, 2017

Cuerdas is an endearing Spanish book that presents the issue of diversity through the eyes of a young girl, Maria, who Pedro Solís, the author, uses to narrate the story in retrospect. This precocious little girl is aware of the differences that exist between her, her peers, and her new special classmate, Nico. As can be seen, while she is playing, she lightly analyzes the physical aspects of her peers by drawing inferences and comparisons when she states: “Me puse a pensar que todos somos distintos….no era razón para que no jugáramos con él” which translates to, “I thought to myself that we are all different…it was not a reason not to play with him.” It is specifically at that moment, she discovered that everyone is essentially the same and worthy to be treated as such. Determined, she goes beyond the façade not only to befriend him but rather, include him in her day-to-day activities. Despite her attempts, she runs into some obstacles but, in her own way, manages to overcome each hurdle and make each day enjoyable as their friendship flourishes.

 Solís captures her innocence through the illustrations which depict the ideas she conjures to aid Nico’s mobility. Although, Solís tends to be brief and states a matter-of-factly, he manages to get his message across. Indeed, this is an insightful book and will most likely heighten children’s sensitivity with the topic.

 The style of writing is a both a narrative and descriptive. In addition, it can also be classified as realistic fiction genre due to the topic. Moreover, the dialogue is plausible considering that the main character is a child, which the reader audience can easily relate to. Equally as important, are the illustrations because each page of picture(s) coincides with the story and brings it to life. In fact, the illustrations are essentially the same from Solís’ short film version of the story that was included in a DVD attached to the book.

In summary, due to the relevance of the topic, Cuerdas would be readily accepted in the United States whether it was translated into English or not.