Review Detail

CITY PALS is a delightful new installment in the charming ISLA OF ADVENTURE early chapter book series. Isla has lived on the island of Sol her whole life, and she has a secret gift - she can speak with animals. The only one who knows is her BFF Tora Rosa. In this newest book, Isla and Tora are traveling with their mothers to La Ciudad for new adventures.

What I loved: The story begins with Isla taking her first airplane trip, setting up all the steps of taking a flight and what it is like onboard. This is really great for young readers who may not yet have taken an airplane trip of their own yet. Isla also expresses her nerves and feelings along the way, which make the story super relatable. Once they arrive in La Ciudad, Isla gets to explore all the amazing things in the big city. She finds that she soon makes an animal friend who needs her help in Hank the pigeon.

Hank is struggling with gift giving, thinking of the perfect gift for someone who means so much to him. Bread Lady always brings the pigeons the best crumbs in the park, and they try to bring her gifts in return. Hank's last gift went horribly when he spilled the gifted smoothie on her. As they try to figure out what gift to give, they find some challenges along the way. Luckily, with some creativity and thoughtfulness, Tora, Isla, and Hank are able to come up with just the thing. This plot is great to help teach about gift giving while also illustrating the difficulty in choosing just the right thing.

The writing is simple and moves quickly while telling a complete story. These books all work so well for early independent chapter book readers. Each page features an illustration, and the font is large, clear, and easy to read throughout. The plots add to the fun with a touch of magic in speaking with animals, who always have such big personalities. The illustrations themselves are really detailed and emotive, bringing readers into the story and helping to transition children who love picture books into the chapter book scene.

Final verdict: CITY PALS is another fantastic installment in this delightful chapter book series, perfect for independent readers getting into longer and more complex stories who love animals, solving problems, and friendship.