Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match

Brown, Monica, et al. Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match. Library Ideas, LLC, 2018.

Genre: Fiction (Bilingual)

Lexile:AD5A0L
More info:  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12629258-marisol-mcdonald-doesn-t-match-marisol-mcdonald-no-combina

Summary: Marisol has bright orange hair and brown skin. She also likes to match polka dots with stripes! Her favorite snack at lunch is a peanut butter and jelly burrito. Marisol's classmates are confused by why she dresses this way and eats different food than they do at lunch. They tell her that she should try to match her clothes instead and so Marisol starts to change herself so her classmates will like her. She quickly realizes that she is the happiest when she is being herself and not trying to match for other people. This is a great story about listening to your heart and standing up for yourself, even when people are judging you.

Target Audience: I would say that 2nd-4th graders would enjoy this book the most. I think these grades would be able to gather important information from the text and also enjoy the story and illustrations. This would be a great book for young students!

Evaluation: I love this book. I think the illustrations are awesome, bright, colorful and eye catching. Students will enjoy looking at the pictures of Marisol's brightly colored clothes and hair. The theme of this story also aligns with Donna Norton's standards in the textbook. The theme is important, meaningful and applicable to every day life for students reading. This story is entertaining and also teaches a lesson to students that staying true to yourself is so important!

Reader Response Activity: The dog that Marisol picks in the end of the story has some special characteristics, just like Marisol. I would ask my students to draw pictures of unusual/special pets. We could have a group discussion after about why the pets are unusual and what makes them special. We would also discuss what makes all of us special and unique and how that is EXCITING!