Friday, April 18, 2025

Lola, by Karla Arenas Valenti



Each Friday that school is in session, I share the link to a read-aloud preview of a book from SRCSA library. The “First-chapter Friday” selection for April 18, 2025 is Lola, by Karla Arenas Valenti.

Ten-year-old Lola has always been touched by magic. In her Mexico City home, built around a towering tree, she is accustomed to enchanted blooms that change with the seasons, a sandbox that spits out mysterious treasures, and mischievous chaneques that scuttle about unseen by all but her. Magic has always been a part of her life, but now she must embrace the extraordinary as never before. Ever since The Thing That Happened, Lola’s brother Alex has been sick. As his condition worsens, something begins eating away at the tree, causing its leaves and blossoms to crumble like ash. The two are related, Lola is sure of it, but how? Seeking a cure, she visits a grocery store oracle who bids her to follow the chaneques down one of their secret passages... into a hidden world. Lola was the winner, in 2025, of the Pura Belpré (Author) Award.
https://youtu.be/uYx_V-aww_g

First-chapter Friday playlist on YouTube:
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6F1x26TGVFF4Clbqq18kcKCxfxnuDx4w

Pura Belpré Award winners and Honor Books:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6F1x26TGVFHbp0nhlcH6BHVb1yVC2Deu

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