Horn Book
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Brown has the Queen of Salsa tell her own story in a first-person narrative. The vivid poetic language makes the sights, sounds, and smells of Havana, New York, and Miami come alive (but is somewhat vague about details). Lopez's bold, almost-cubist illustrations suit the story, interpreting the bilingual text's magical realism. A one-page afterword fills in some biographical information. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.