Super Star Children's Book Review: The Way to Rio Luna

Welcome to the monthly children’s book review feature with a focus on diverse books here at Bird Meets Worm! My team of reviewers—Joan Charles, Laurie Young, Sarah Orgill—and I are so excited to be championing books celebrating everything from gender diversity, people of color, the LGBTQ community to ethnic, cultural and religious minorities, people with disabilities and developmental challenges to controversial topics, unique family situations and anything and everything I did not include. It is to say we take a rightfully broad view of diversity! We aim to shine a light on books that bring both familiar experiences to those who do not often see themselves represented in books and new experiences to those looking to expand their worldview. Here at Bird Meets Worm we believe in the power of story to build empathy and thus a better world for you and me and everyone. Look for a new review on the second Wednesday of every month.

           

THE WAY TO RIO LUNA
By Zoraida Córdova
Middle Grade (ages 8-12) • 336 pages
Published by Scholastic • 2020
ISBN 978-1-3382-3954-6

What if you were sure magic was real, but no one else around you believed?

If you’re Danny Montevideo, you try to keep your belief to yourself. But as Danny is shunted from one foster family to the next, he finds it hard to keep his faith in magic alive. Especially once his sister Pili disappears and can no longer read to him from their favorite book of fairy tales, The Way to Rio Luna. Although everyone assumes Pili ran away, Danny knows that she would never leave him to face life alone. Something terrible has happened to her and it’s up to him to save her.

A fateful school field trip to the New York Public Library sends Danny on the greatest adventure of his life. There, he tumbles into a world where magic is real. He makes friends with Glory Papillon, a girl he meets at the library, and together they set out to find Pili—and the real Rio Luna.

The Way to Rio Luna is a fun and exciting introduction to a series that will have the reader looking forward to the next volume of this light-hearted fantasy adventure.

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Reviewed by: Joan Charles