Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match/Marisol McDonald no combina
By Monica Brown. Illustrated by Sara Palacios
Translated by Adriana Domínguez
Children’s Book Press • 2011 • 32 pages
Hardcover ($17.95)
ISBN: 978-0892392353
Ages 4-8
This delightful book is a welcomed celebration of uniqueness when peer pressure demands conformity! Author Brown draws from her own biography to create this tale of a young girl whose Peruvian-Scottish roots make her stand out. Her very name—Marisol McDonald—screams difference.
Marisol enjoys writing her unusual name by combining cursive and print letters, something her teacher frowns upon. With a mom and dad who hail from different parts of the world, her physical appearance is also unusual. Red hair and brown skin “don’t match,” her cousin declares. Marisol’s mixed cultural heritage has shaped her to the core: She hates clothes that match—the more colors and patterns, the better. Her taste buds crave odd food combinations, such as peanut butter and jelly burritos. Mixing English and Spanish is likewise normal for her. At school, kids turn up their noses at Marisol’s natural inclinations. How can she fit in?
Read Related: Help Your Kids Embrace Their Mixed Heritage
One day, Marisol decides to conform. The eye-opening discovery for both Marisol and readers is that she is not happier when she looks and acts like everyone else—she is absolutely miserable instead. Hurray for the teacher who recognizes Marisol’s struggle and praises her uniqueness, and for this heartwarming tale of a triumphant misfit!
—Reviewed by Gisela Norat, Agnes Scott College, Atlanta, Georgia.
