Rafi y Rosi ¡Piratas!

"A sweet and engaging story."

"In this Dive into Reading book, Rafi wants nothing more than to visit San Juan's 400-year-old fort, El Morro, but his younger sister, Rosi, wants to fly her kite. In three episodes, the tree frog siblings pretend to be pirates (and fly Rosi's kite), explore the fort's kitchen (where they discover a hidden treasure), and find themselves in El Morro's haunted sentry box during a game of hide-and-seek. Delacre bases each standalone story on her childhood memories of growing up in San Juan, and weaves information about the island's history into each. Her simple watercolor and colored-pencil drawings are childlike, yet sophisticated, and add action and emotions to the stories. The first page of the book features a pronunciation glossary of Spanish words used in the text, and back matter includes factual information and some activities for each story. Formatted to support newly independent readers, this is a good addition for libraries wishing to add diversity to the collection, or those serving Spanish-speaking children."

"In three entertaining stories, tree frog siblings Rafi and Rosi explore Puerto Rico's El Morro fort by playing pirates, finding gold doubloons, and discovering a haunted sentry box. This third series entry again sprinkles Spanish words throughout a slightly advanced text supported by soft watercolor and colored-pencil illustrations. Extensive back matter provides historical information about topics mentioned in the stories."