Poor Lola! Her older sister Clementina excels at everything while she has to settle for being average. What’s a girl to do? Lola finds the answer when she discovers a box of flamenco dancing shoes in her mami’s closet. With the help of her papi and many long days of practice, Lola learns the fandango and toca toca ticas into the limelight at a surprise birthday party for her mami, a former flamenco dancer. Witte’s engaging narrative successfully captures Lola’s frustrations and excitement while communicating the strong bonds of Lola’s familia. At the same time, Archer’s bright, expressive collage illustrations extend the narrative and will certainly ignite a spark in the hearts of young dancing aficionados. Includes an authors note about the fandango dance as well as a Spanish glossary and a storytime CD with music and narration. Recommended.

Lola's Fandango. Anna Witte. Illus. by Micha Archer. Cambridge, MA: Barefoot Books, 2011. Unpaged. $16.99 (Hardcover). ISBN 978-1846861741. Grades K-3. English with Spanish