I Am La Chiva!: The Colorful Bus of the Andes

I Am La Chiva!: The Colorful Book of the Andes tells the story of a Columbian bus with an important job, bringing people into town to sell their goods at the local Mercado. Along the way they run into trouble yet thankfully they can resolve this issue using a collective effort.

What I liked:

This book captured my attention from the cover and kept me engaged throughout the story. I was enamored with the bus from the minute it was introduced as the author does a great job of personifying it.

I appreciated how the author and illustrator included several individuals of different ethnicities, genders, jobs, and ages. I loved that this book showed the diversity of Columbia in the people we meet, the animals, the plants shown throughout, and the various items sold at the market.

I enjoyed the colors throughout this story as they bring the book to life. La Chiva reminded me of Casita in Encanto making it easy to love this bus. I loved that this bus had a job and it knew how important it was to the people in this city. I also love that this book shows a different way of taking the bus compared to how we are used to bus rides in the United States. I thought this was a great way of showing how something works in another country and introducing this to children.

The author does an amazing job of including Spanish terms throughout this story in a way that Spanish learners can read. I love that the context clues let you know what the terms mean yet there is a glossary at the end of the book with each of the Spanish terms included. I also appreciated that the author explains the name of the bus and what the book means to her.

Final Verdict: I Am La Chiva!: The Colorful Book of the Andes is an engaging story that children ages 2+ will love to hear read aloud to them. This story is easy to follow and teaches a great lesson about how everyone is helpful in times of need. Adults will enjoy reading this story and learning about the various characters we encounter.